Huntresses Vs Marauders
by ASiriusWriter01
Summary: Raven and Laurel are two best friends transferring to Hogwarts from America trying to move on from their best friend's death. So what happens when they meet the prank-happy Marauders? This is the story of two broken girls learning to live and laugh again while trying to put themselves back together. I don't own Harry Potter. On hiatus...maybe forever. I'm sorry.
1. Chapter 1

Two girls stood on the quidditch pitch in their school, getting ready to say their last good byes to the place where the magic started for them. They were clearly upset to leave, but they couldn't stand staying there anymore, it held to many memories.

"Raven, do you think that we made the right choice? Do you think Alexis would be upset with us for leaving?"The brunette asked the taller girl sadly.

"Laurel, I think she would be glad that we are moving on from her death. She won't be happy that we needed to leave to do that, but she'll be glad to know that the huntresses will eventually heal and still make mischief here and there," Raven assured her friend.

The two girls had been through a lot that past summer. Their best friend had died in a car crash, and they didn't know how to cope. They spent their summer wallowing in their misery and staying away from cars.

Finally, Laurel couldn't stand it anymore, she decided that they were not going to keep wasting their lives and went to research what they could do to help them cope with their grief. After much research, the girls decided that a change in scenery was in order; they owled their headmistress, and she quickly had them transferred to a school in Scotland. It was called Hogwarts and it was apparently the best wizarding school in Britain. Their guardians, after seeing the girls go through so much grief, had allowed them to go.

So now they were going to take one last look at their past, so they can move into the future. And who are the huntresses? That will be answered when we get to Hogwarts, when the girls' real journey begins.


	2. Chapter 2

Remus P.O.V

I ran through the barrier to get to platform 9 3/4. I was running late and only had a few minutes to get on the Hogwarts Express. I heaved my trunk onto the train. When I got to the compartment that my friends and usually go to, instead of finding the other Marauders fooling around, I saw two very pretty girls. One of the girls, a blonde with a pale complexion, was reading a transfiguration textbook. Her ice blue eyes darted up to glance at me when I came in. The other girl, a brunette with a tanner complexion than the blonde, was staring out the window, her forest green eyes full of sadness and grief. When I came in, she gave me a small, if not forced, smile.

"Hello, would you like to sit? You could stand there all day if you want; it's probably not all that comfortable though," she said with a decidedly American accent.

"Sure. I'm Remus; what are your names?" I asked politely. If they are new students, I don't want to be rude.

The blonde spoke up this time, "I'm Raven, and this is my friend Laurel. We are transfer students from Salem Academy of witchcraft in Greenwich."

"Why did you transfer to Hogwarts?" I questioned. What could make them want to leave the school where they first started learning magic?

Something bad must have happened, because Laurel started tearing up while Raven stared at me sadly. The girls quickly fixed their expressions to indifference, but a bit of sadness still in their eyes. I was saved by the Marauders fortunately

"Hey Moony! We've been looking for you. Why weren't you on the platform?" said James Potter, also known as Prongs.

Sirius Black, or Padfoot, took notice of Raven and Laurel and smirked, "I think I know what he's been doing."

I felt warmth flood my cheeks. Now I've done it. I will never hear the end of this from Padfoot. I was about to open my mouth to change the subject, but someone beat me to it.

Laurel P.O.V

I saw poor Remus blush and decided to help the poor guy out. I turned to the guy with the messy black hair, hazel eyes, and glasses.

"Hello, my name is Laurel and this is my friend Raven," Raven looked up when I said her name."We are exchange students from America. And you are?" I said a bit formally.

The boy looked up in shock. "I'm James Potter, and these knuckleheads are Sirius Black," Sirius glared at James for calling him a knucklehead, "and Peter Pettigrew."

Peter nodded in my direction. I was a bit confused; after all, his friends seem friendly enough. Regardless I gave him a hesitant smile. Sirius however, gave me a cocky smile. He's probably a player. I decided to deflate his ego a bit. I looked straight at him, and I started laughing.

All of the guys looked surprised. Raven, or should I say Sharpeye, caught on to what I was doing and mimicked my actions. She looked right at Sirius and laughed. The guys looked at us like we were crazy. Well I never said that we were sane. I guess Remus couldn't take it anymore.

"Why are you laughing?"

Raven P.O.V

"Why are you laughing?"

I smirked at Laurel, my partner in crime. I suppose that I should call her Razorfang right now though. Little pranks like this were right up her alley. I watched to see how long she would keep this up, pretending to wipe tears of mirth from my eyes.

"I'm sorry, but why do you need to know?"Razorfang retorted, still chuckling.

This time Sirius spoke up, "You two just looked at me and started laughing! What was so funny?"

Razorfang smiled widely, I don't think I've seen her smile like that since our fellow Huntress Alexis passed away in a car crash. Come to think of it, I haven't had this much fun since then either. I suddenly realized that I tuned out of the conversation. I managed to catch the tail end of what Laurel said.

"...and it was just too funny to watch Sirius look cocky about something he probably cnt even do," she said "innocently." I chuckled at the 'I didn't do anything wrong' expression on her face.

Remus and James looked like they were about to burst from laughter, and Peter looked like he couldn't believe that Laurel said whatever she said. Sirius's reaction was the best by far. His jaw was practically on the floor, his eyes wide, and he has fallen back onto a seat. I began laughing for real. I laughed so hard that I almost fell off of the seat and onto the floor. Soon Razorfang joined in. We just couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Razorfang ...that was...so... hilarious!" I managed to say in between laughing fits.

"Couldn't….have...done it...without you...Sharpeye...Did you...see their faces?" she replied. Well she tried to, she was laughing so hard that she could barely speak before laughing again.

When Laurel said that, the guys rearranged their expressions to what they thought was neutral. I checked my watch, and noticed that we were only ten minutes into the ride. The guys got comfortable and started playing exploding snap. Razorfang and I looked back out the window. I didn't need to be able to read minds to know that we were thinking about the same thing. We were thinking about Alexis and the Huntresses. You see, Laurel, Alexis, and I started Salem when we were ten years old. In America, we have eight years of schooling. We all hit it off immediately. We weren't close to our families, and we just became each others' family. In third year, we decided that we wanted something special that was ours. So we became animagi. It took us a whole year, but we finally got it. My animagus is a hawk, Laurel's is a lioness, and Alexis was a snake. We gave each other nicknames according to our animagus forms. I got Sharpeye, Laurel got Razorfang, and Alexis got Viper.

We also used to host a lot of parties. Viper was in charge of getting the word out to students without teachers knowing, I was in charge of music, and Laurel did food. Our parties were always a huge hit. It also helped that there were no houses, so it was easy to get everyone in on it. Someone always wanted to help us. We usually had these parties if our favorite football team one, or it was someone's birthday, or if we really had nothing better to do. That was actually how it started. Laurel was bored one day, so we had a little party with the girls in our year, and we just made it a regular thing when there was nothing to do. Soon everyone started inviting other people and half of the school got involved. I would do anything to have Viper back...

Laurel P.O.V

I watched the scenery rush past us, and I couldn't help but wish that Alexis was here. Viper would use this time to help with planning a party. Instead she is six feet under. If only she could have flooed home. Sadly, her house wasn't connected to the floo network, so she drove home with her dad. During that same drive home, there was a drunk driver on the road. The drunk driver was driving on the wrong side of the road, and Alexis's dad couldn't do anything. Her dad died on impact. Alexis went into a coma for three hours. She was taken to the hospital by helicopter. We waited for two and a half long, agonizing hours full of tears before we were told of her condition. There was nothing that they could do. We had to say our good-byes.

Raven and I went last. Raven gave our sister (because we were all a family; not just best friends) a hug and a kiss on the forehead. She told her that she understood that she held on just long enough to say good-bye, and that she had to go. I gave Alexis a kiss on the forehead as well. I told her that sisters are forever, and that when I die, I can't wait to tell you about my life. Until then, I would settle for knowing that she is watching over me. Raven and I were there while they pulled the plug on her life support. We cried on each others' shoulders as we heard the last beep that signals that her heart had stopped beating and that she had taken her last breath. I can never unhear that last beep; I can never unsee my sister's dead, cold body. I can never forget the stabbing pain in my heart when I stared into her once vibrant, lively brown eyes that were hardened and lightless in death. It then hit me that the sly and loyal red head would never grow up and graduate school. That alone broke my heart. But what hurt the most was that Alexis would never see her dream come true. She died too young to have a child.

Remus P.O.V

I looked up from my game of exploding snap to see Raven and Laurel on the verge of crying. I checked my watch quickly. We had an hour and forty five minutes until we get to Hogwarts. I suggested that the girls should go to the loo to change while we change here. They complied. When the girls came back, we got out of the compartment to get some candy from the trolley. We chatted about random things to pass the time. A few minutes later, Lily Evans comes in. She would have walked right out if there weren't any new students here.

"Hi I'm Lily Evans. You must be the new girls! It's so nice to meet you! How was your school in America? Did they have prefects? A prefect is someone who patrols the halls and gives out detentions to people who break the rules. I'm a prefect, so if you ever need something, don't hesitate to ask," Lily said speedily all in one breath.

Laurel and Raven politely introduced themselves, but they seemed hesitant to speak with her. Suddenly, James moved toward Lily. If the new girls weren't Scared of Lily before, they will be now.

"Hey Lily. What brings you to my compartment? Did you miss me?" James said.

"Stuff it Potter! I didn't come to see you! I came to meet the new girls you pompous git! You know what, Laurel, Raven and I are leaving," she retorted."Come on girls!" This was the one of the mildest insults she has ever used against James.

"Umm no offense Lily," Laurel started.

"But we would like to stay here," Raven finished.

Obviously feeling insulted anyway, Lily marched out of the compartment muttering about the "bloody Marauders". Raven asked us who the Marauders are when she left.

"The Marauders are only the most exclusive club in the world. There are only four members," James stated proudly.

"Let me guess, you four are the Marauders," Raven said rolling her eyes.

I nodded yes, knowing that if I didn't, they wouldn't get an answer. I explained to them that we pranked people a lot, so Professor McGonagall called us marauders and the name just stuck.

"How long until we get to Hogwarts?" Laurel wondered aloud.

"About 45 minutes," I replied automatically. She mouthed a thank you to me.

We all did our own thing for the rest of the ride. Laurel, Raven, and I read some of our course books, James and Sirius played exploding snap, and Peter...slept. Before we knew it, we were at the Hogsmeade station. Everyone headed outside. The girls went to the boats while Sirius, James, Peter, and I went to the horseless carriages.

Raven P.O.V

Razorfang and I left the Marauders to go to the boats. A big man (and I mean a BIG man) named Hagrid told us to get on the boats. If I didn't know any better; I would think that he was a giant. Laurel and I picked a completely empty boat, so that one would bother us. As the boat started moving, I looked around. Perhaps it's the fact that it's basically night right now, but the Black Lake really looks black. If I looked really hard, I could see the outline of the giant squid that the Marauders told us about. I hope that thing stays far away from me. I don't feel like having a swim before dinner. About halfway across the lake, I hear gasps from all around me. I look to where they are looking and see a majestic castle perched on a cliff. So this is Hogwarts; it looks even more beautiful than in the books. I tap Laurel, who was looking at the stars, on the shoulder and point to our new school. She gasps softly at the sight of where we will finishe our schooling. I can't tear my gaze away from the beautiful sight until...

"Everyone! Heads down!" Hagrid calls out. I duck my head as we pass a curtain of ivy.

Everyone hops off of the boats and onto shore. Hagrid leads us to a stern looking woman who he introduces as Professor McGonagall. So this is the woman who gave the Marauders their name. The Marauders weren't kidding when they said that she was extremely prim and proper. She had her hair in a tight bun and was wearing very regal looking robes. She also spoke very loudly and gave us a speech on how our house is our family and about rooming. I barely paid attention; I was too busy taking in my surroundings. She quicklt ushered us into the Great Hall. I feel my jaw drop and my eyes widen. Hogwarts: A History did not prepare me for this...


	3. Chapter 3

Raven pov

The sight of the Great Hall took my breath away. The clear night sky was shown on the ceiling. I know that it isn't really the sky because I read Hogwarts: A History one or five times. I tried not to openly stare at everything around me. Instead, I focused on looking for the Marauders. They were waving their arms around like idiots. I snorted and rolled my eyes at them.

"You see the fools too?" Laurel asked while snickering.

"How could I not?"I replied, "They're waving their arms trying to get our attention like their lives depend on it. Ellos estan locos (they are crazy)."

"Definitely, I'm going to miss taking Spanish. I can't believe that Hogwarts doesn't take world language." she stated.

"But you took French," I pointed out.

"I know, but I enjoyed the course while I took it. I would have taken it if Hogwarts offered it. Maybe we could teach it to ourselves. This place is supposed to have a huge library Sharpeye," Laurel said.

The sorting must have gone on while we were talking. We were alone when our conversation ended. Razorfang looked as confused as I was, but I hid it better than she did. Suddenly, Dumbledore's voice boomed throughout the Great Hall.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I hope that you had a lovely summer. This year, Hogwarts has the privilege of having two students from the Salem Academy of Witchcraft and Wizardry transfer here. I would like you all to give a warm welcome to Laurel Anderson and Raven Everett." he announced.

I saw Laurel blush deeply from the corner of my eye. The poor girl doesn't like being put in the spotlight like that. When I heard the Marauders chanting our names, I felt a light blush creep up my cheeks. They were going to draw out the applauding more than needed. Eventually, the applause died down, and we were called up to the sorting hat. Laurel was going to be sorted first. She walked briskly to the stool and sat down. She was chewing on her bottom lip. What is she worried about?

Laurel pov

I chewed in my bottom lip as the sorting hat was placed upon my head. A million thoughts were on my mind. I just hoped that Sharpeye and I would stay together.

'Good evening Ms. Anderson. I see that you are a bit worried. Don't worry, just clear your mind and I will sort you,' a calming voice echoed in my head. I complied immediately. 'Well Ms. Anderson, it seems that you have quite a thirst for knowledge. Perhaps Ravenclaw will suit you the best. You are not lacking in bravery either. How else could you stand up to your family in such a way?' I gasped inwardly. It can see that? I had tried to bury those memories. They flashed through my mind unbidden. I saw myself slapping my mother to get her to listen to reason a month after Dad died. I saw myself screaming at her afterwards to stop being such a selfish coward who didn't love her children anymore. I saw myself punching my brother after he came home drunk when he was sixteen. I also remember kicking him in the balls the morning after when he had a hangover. More and more memories of me having to step up after Dad died flashed through my mind. I banished them to the dark corners of mind. A new school, a new start.

The hat chuckled, 'Do not worry Ms. Anderson. I do not judge. It seems that your thirst for knowledge is pointing to Ravenclaw, but your actions are pulling you to "GRYFFINDOR!" 'Good luck you young lady' the hat said before being pulled from my head. I shot a quick glance at Raven before sitting down at the Gryffindor table near Lily. I quietly apologized to her for earlier before looking up at Raven.

Raven pov

I watched as Laurel shyly went to the Gryffindor table. It was very funny. The girl who put together some of the best parties ever with Viper and I being shy is just too ironic. I heard Professor McGonagall call my name. Here goes nothing.

'Hello there Ms. Everett. I must say that your mind is much easier to sort through than your friend's. It seems that your mind is quite fit for Ravenclaw, but your loyalty is very great. Where should you go?' I thought about my sister. I didn't want to be separated from her. She isn't as well put together as she seems, she may fool others, but not me. She will be torn up inside if we aren't in the same house. Especially now that Viper is gone. She is still torn up about her death. I had to stay with her. I took all of my memories from the orphanage that demonstrated me being brave and sent them to the hat. I demanded to be put in Gryffindor. 'Well Ms. Everett, you seem to be quite brave yourself. You may do well in Gryffindor, but are you completely sure? You can do great things in Ravenclaw.' I thought yes to it. 'Ok young lady, your new house will be "GRYFFINDOR!"

I sighed in relief and walked calmly to Laurel. She looked extremely relieved. I squeezed her shoulder reassuringly and smiled at her. She beamed at me. I heard the Marauders cheer beside us. Here we go again...

Sirius yelled in an obnoxiously loud voice, "We got the new girls! Take that!"

Remus just smiled at us and told us to ignore Sirius. I raised an eyebrow at him. How can I ignore the guy sitting next to me when he is screaming at the top of his lungs? I looked around and realized that James was extremely quiet and staring into space.

"What's up with James?" I asked the guys.

"Oh, he's just drooling over Evans again," whispered Sirius.

I looked at the girl sitting beside my best friend. I remember James trying to flirt with her before storming off. I felt bad for dissing her for the Marauders. She looked at me and smiled.

"I think that we got off on the wrong foot" she said. "My name is Lily Evans, and I am extremely glad to meet you. If you ever need any help, I would love to help you. I hope that we can be friends." She was a lot calmer than before.

I smiled back at her, "I'm Raven Everett and I are so sorry for earlier. I am glad to meet you too."

James appeared at my side. Oh no. I can already tell that she hates him from the train ride, and it's obvious that he adores her. This is just going to end bad for him.

"Why hello Lily-flower. I see that you are talking to my dear friends Laurel and Raven," we groaned at this, "and I hope we are all getting along. How about we all get together for the first Hogsmeade?" James said.

I decided to ignore this conversation. I looked over to Laurel. It's time to put some use to the sign language we learned a few years ago. 'He's just using us to get close to Lily isn't he?' I signed. 'Nah he probably just sees that as a bonus. I'm sure that he really wants to be out friend. He befriended us before we started talking to Lily.' She signed back.

I looked at her sadly. She never thought badly of people. She is also way too trusting. We don't know that James isn't using us to get to Lily. Laurel won't think like that though. Her motto is "Trust until they give you a reason not to." She may trust the Marauders, but I'm a little wary. I'll have to pull her away if they cross the line. I don't want to see her hurt. Not after seeing her look so broken and fragile when Viper died. I was pulled from my thoughts by a very concerned Remus.

"Are you okay Raven? You've been staring at your food for five minutes," he told me.

"I'm fine, just thinking. There's a lot to take in," I replied.

He nodded at me and left me to my thoughts. I couldn't wait for classes tomorrow. I read ahead on some of my favorite subjects. Laurel called my crazy for wanting to read ahead. It's not my fault that she prefers fiction over nonfiction. Viper enjoyed reading poetry. She often wrote pieces of poetry herself. Suddenly, Laurel kicked my foot.

I glared at her before realizing that someone was trying to talk to me. It was Sirius.

"...and those are the Slytherins, or should I say future death eaters." he said.

I interrupted him, "What are death eaters? Are they some sort of club?"

The Marauders and Lily dropped their conversations and stared at me.

"What?" Laurel exclaimed."We are from America. We don't know about English clubs or whatever."

It was James who answered the question we Huntresses were thinking, "Death eaters are the followers of Voldemort. Voldemort is a dark wizard who believes that purebloods are better than muggleborns. He kills muggles and muggleborns. Most of his followers, the death eaters, come from Slytherin."

I stared at him coldly, "And what do you and the Marauders think James? What is your opinion?"

The Marauders looked surprised at my tone of voice. Sirius answered, "We don't believe any of that! I can't believe that you would even consider that!"

Laurel immediately jumped to my defense, "Can you blame her! You just told us that there is a terrorist with a bunch of followers, and that he gets a bunch of them from the table next to us!" she paused a moment. I felt grateful that she could read me so well. I was just being cautious.

"Things are a lot different here. I have a few questions. Do all purebloods think like this? What are the criteria for being a muggleborn? Apparently it's different everywhere. In Australia, a newblood is considered a muggleborn only if they have muggles for parents. If you have two muggleborn parents, you are considered a new-pureblood. After that you're a pureblood.

The Marauders looked confused. So did Lily. "Umm...if you have any muggle heritage on both sides of your family, you're a muggleborn. Not all purebloods believe in pureblood supremacy. The Potters, the Longbottoms, the Weasleys, the Prewetts, the Diggorys, the Patils, the Bones and Sirius here are a few people that don't believe in that stuff," Lily answered.

Sirius commented, "What's a newblood? You used that word a lot."

I replied, "A newblood is what you guys call a muggleborn. Where we are from, a pureblood is anyone who has magical parents, even if they were muggleborn. We tend to use the words as vocab. in History of Magic and not as labels like everyone here obviously does. No offense."

Laurel chimed in, "Lily, you said just Sirius. What about his family. Don't they think pureblood supremacy is stupid?"

Sirius snarled, "They wouldn't say that if you paid them. They are deeper into the Dark Arts than any CRAZY person would be, and they are completely behind the dark lord."

Oh Laurel, why couldn't you keep your mouth shut?

Laurel POV

I was horrified with myself. Sirius obviously didn't like even thinking about his family, and I brought them up in the worst way possible! I didn't know what to say to that, so I changed the topic.

"Well let me get this straight. The Ravenclaws are smart asses, the Hufflepuffs are good finders, Slytherins are stupid, and Gryffindors are epic?" I tried using humor.

James nodded so hard that I thought that his head would fall off, Peter just stared at me, Remus rolled his eyes and grinned, and (I think he saw right through me. I was pretty obvious about it. Oh well, it's the thought that counts and whatnot) and Sirius gave a small grin. Raven looked confused but groaned at my bad attempt at humor. That's what she gets for not listening to Sirius earlier. It's not my fault that she didn't listen. I can't fault her about groaning at the joke. I am just not good with jokes.

"Well," Sirius started, "Slytherins are idiots..."

"And they are also awful quidditch players," James finished.

They began talking about how they would crush the Slytherins this year in the competition for the House Cup. I looked at Raven. She was the better quidditch player. She is an amazing seeker. I think that it's because she's an eagle animagus. Eagles are used to looking for their prey while flying high in the sky then diving to get it. I am just a good chaser. I was definitely not the best. I saw Raven really getting into the conversation. She said that the Dodgers (AN: Does anyone have better names for American Quidditch teams? I'm just using real sports teams) were by far the best, and that they could beat the Wasps any day. James and Sirius didn't react well to that. The resulting argument was so weird that by the end of it, they were debating whether or not death eaters should be called idiots or death nibblers. I turned to Remus and asked him about classes.

"All of the classes a pretty good except Divination. That is just a bunch of insanity that makes no sense. Athrimancy is really interesting, and so is Ancient Runes. Transfiguration is fun if you know what you're doing; Charms is the same way. Care of Magical Creatures can be dangerous; the same could be said with Herbology. I think that Astronomy is an easier subject because of the memorization. Potions is the worst. The teacher is always looking for people to recruit for his Slug Club," Remus summed up the classes.

Dinner ended soon after Remus explained the classes. We headed up to the Gryffindor tower where we stopped at a painting of a fat woman. Sirius told her a password and we slipped inside the common room. Lily led Raven and I up the stairs to the girls' dormitories. I muttered a goodnight and collapsed onto my bed.

Raven pov

I chuckled at Laurel. I set my alarm clock for 6:00 so that I would have plenty of time to get ready tomorrow. Then, I set Laurel's to 5:30 just to annoy her. I can't have her sleeping in I thought while giggling. I put on my pajamas and crawled into bed. I cast a quick silencing charm on my bed, expecting the usual nightmares of Alexis's death. I nodded off, Alexis's death plaguing my dreams until morning.


	4. Chapter 4

Laurel POV

The first few notes of Party Rock Anthem were what woke me up today. I'm glad that Viper, Sharpeye, and I decided to get jobs for our iPods. I hate how regular alarms wake me up with that annoying BEEEEEEP! I shut off my alarm and checked the time. 5:30 am? Why is my alarm set to five thirty in the morning? I whipped my head around to the only person who I know would do that. In retaliation, I crept up to her bed and started hitting her with my pillow. When she was up, I started tickling her. She caught me by surprise with a pillow to the face, knocking me off the bed. It was the start of an all out pillow/tickle war when our roommates began to complain.

"Guys, I'm sleeping!" Alice Perri complained.

Dorcas Meadowes just chucked a pillow at us. Lily didn't say anything. I looked over at Sharpeye and gave her an evil smile. 'Want to get everyone up?' I signed. She smirked and nodded before gathering our pillows. She handed me a pillow and we charged. I took Alice and Sharpeye took Dorcas. We hit them with our pillows as hard as we could. Thank Merlin that the pillows aren't feather pillows. They would have left a huge mess! We (somewhat) successfully got those two girls up and turned to the girl softly snoring on the bed. We almost took pity on her. Almost. We jumped on the bed and bombarded the redhead with pillows. It's too bad that she didn't wake up. Dorcas and Alice laughed.

"Good luck with her. She could sleep through the apocalypse," they stated.

I took that as a challenge. I transfigured a few quills into water balloons. Raven didn't want to be on the receiving end of Lily's rage, but I was having too much fun to really care about that. I banished the balloons so that they flew at Lily's head.

"Ahhhhh! Who did that?" Lily screeched.

I paled and ran into the bathroom. Raven, who knew that this would happen, handed me one of my uniforms as I ran past. I muttered a thank you over my shoulder. On the bright side, I would get the first shower. I spent a quick fifteen minutes in the shower before throwing on the uniform and brushing my hair. As soon as I opened the door, Alice rushed inside. I chuckled at her before moving to my bed.

I glanced at a still wet Lily. The red head was still soaked, but she looked extremely calm. I was a bit wary of her temper, but I walked over anyway.

"Lily, I'm sorry that I soaked you," I hung my head, waiting to be chastised. Instead I felt the soaking wet girl hug me.

"Eeeek!" I squealed.

Lily smirked, "Now we're even Laurel."

I sighed. I should have expected that. I noticed that Alice came in and sat down next to Raven. Dorcas went into the bathroom. I groaned. If I wait for all of the girls to take showers to get redressed I'll be wet for an extremely long time. I saw Lily look all dry all of a sudden. I nearly smacked myself on the forehead. Am I a witch or not? I muttered a quick drying and warming charm before grabbing the shortest book in my personal library, "The Giver."

I plopped onto the bed and began to read. A little while later, I felt someone flop onto my bed I looked up to see my best friend reading her astronomy textbook with her hair still dripping wet. I gave her a small smile and dried her hair for her. She muttered quick thanks and used a spell that would brush her hair and put it in her usual hair-do. It was her hair down while a small part was in a braid and clipped back. The dorm was pretty quiet; I guess it was because it was still around like six thirty. I decided to put on some music to fill the silence. I put my iPod on shuffle and turned it up as loud as possible. I sat back down on my bed and began reading again as "Just Dance" came on.

Someone gave a gasp. It was Alice. She obviously had never seen an iPod before. I heard Dorcas explaining it to her, so I went back to my book. I barely read another chapter before someone plucked it out of my hand.

"Nope, you are not going out with your hair like that," Dorcas stated.

"What's wrong with my braid?" I asked while playing with the braid that was draped over my left shoulder.

"Your hair could look so much prettier! Please let me fix it up. If you don't like it you can put it back in a braid," she pleaded.

I sighed. If she can get her hair to be so pretty then maybe she can tame my usually unruly locks. I nodded, and she immediately got to work on my hair. She muttered a charm that got out any knots that I might have missed when I brushed my hair earlier. Then she started curling my hair. It took about ten minutes to get it all curled. She then spayed it all with a lot of hairspray. I looked in a mirror and gasped. My hair was in basic long curls with my side bangs held away from my face (with the help of hairspray). It was simple but very pretty.

"Thanks Dorcas, but why don't we fix up Raven's hair?" I asked.

"Well I thought that her hair was okay, but you are so right," Dorcas replied.

I watched as my friend was lead to a chair. Dorcas was pretty good with hair. She could make my already pretty friend look fabulous. I went back to my book. When I looked up a few minutes later I started laughing. Raven's hair was no longer in its usual style. She instead had her hair in Snookie's hair style.

"What is so funny Laurel?" Raven demanded rather than asked.

I didn't answer; I just guided her to a mirror. The look on her face was priceless. Her eyes widened in horror and her jaw dropped. I could practically hear what she was thinking. It was something along the lines of, 'Snookie? I look like Snookie from Jersey freaking Shore?' Dorcas looked slightly miffed at Raven's reaction.

"You don't like it?" she snapped.

"It's not that," Raven replied."The hair style just reminds me of someone I just really don't like."

"Oh I'm so sorry!" Dorcas said as she made Raven's hair wavy before putting it in a loose side ponytail. She left a few strands out of the ponytail to frame Raven's face.

"It's okay Dorcas. Thanks for styling my hair," Raven chuckled at Dorcas's behavior.

I glanced down at my iPod. Yikes, it's seven 'o clock already. Breakfast starts in ten minutes. I hurriedly put all my books in my bag and made sure that I had extra quills. I saw the other girls start getting their supplies together as well. Raven took the easy way out and used a quick spell to get everything she needed while I just gathered them by hand. I mentally kicked myself when I remembered the spell to do it.

We all headed downstairs. The common room was deserted, so we just went downstairs to the Great Hall. When we got down, breakfast had just started, so we picked a spot at the table to sit and began to serve ourselves. We talked about random things in between mouthfuls of food. Well, it was random until the Marauders made their grand entrance.

As far as pranks go, it was a rather harmless one. Balloons rain down from the ceiling and turned whatever they touched whatever the color the balloon was. When all of the balloons had banished, a message sprung into the air. It said, "Moony, Padfoot, Prongs, and Wormtail welcome everyone back to Hogwarts after a much needed holiday." I looked myself over. I had yellow robes, purple hair, and blue skin. Raven had orange robes, red hair, and purple skin. Lily reminded me of an oompa loompa with blue robes, green hair, and orange skin. Dorcas's once black hair was now red, her robes green, and her skin purple. Alice's brown hair is now blue, her skin is now yellow and her robes are now purple. The Marauders however, got away with only their robes changing color.

"POTTER! BLACK! LUPIN! PETTIGREW!" the oompa loompa, I mean Lily, exploded.

I laughed as the orange clad James bounced up to Lily. The sight of Lily looking absolutely livid with the whole oompa loompa thing going for her sent me over the edge. I saw Sharpeye raise her eyebrow at me. I managed to gasp out the words Lily, mad, and oompa loompa. Raven glanced at Lily, comprehending what I said somehow. I guess that she looked over at Lily because she started cracking up too. Of course our laughter drew attention to us.

"What are you laughing at?" Lily screeched at us, now ignoring the Marauder she was berating before.

I managed to get my giggles under control before saying, "Oompa Loompa," and pointing at her.

Lily looked herself over and saw that she indeed looked like one of Willy Wonka's workers. She started chuckling at her appearance. Then she looked around and started laughing at all of us. Raven and I just grinned at her. I guess that the boys are off the hook.

We all started eating the oddly colored food again. It seems that even the food wasn't safe. Wait, the food is not safe. I stared at the green eggs on my fork. Alice notices this.

"Laurel, what's wrong?" she asked.

I answered her question with one of my own directed at the Marauders, "Did you spike the food in ANY way?"

"No..." they said in unison.

I quickly shoved my plate away from me. Alice was doing the same; unfortunately, the other girls hadn't been listening. We soon got to see what the guys spiked the food with. Within minutes of the Marauders answering my question, the Great Hall was filled with...snakes, lions, badgers, and eagles in robes. Alice and I screamed in fear. I saw a lioness in orange robes walk up to me and butt its head against my side. I automatically knew that it was Sharpeye. I think that we both realized how ironic this was. I never thought I would see the hawk of the group on four legs.

I saw a viper slither around the Slytherin table, and I felt a pang in my heart. Viper would have loved this. Five minutes later, everyone was back to normal but not touching the food. There were no oompa loompas or animals. Sadly, the Marauders cost us twenty house points. I guess that we are going to have to make them up later. At least it wasn't fifty or something like that. That would have been ridiculous. Raven and I didn't take any more chances with our food. We cast spells at our food just in case there was anything else in it. We ate our food without anymore interruptions until we all got our schedules. I looked mine over and paled when I saw the final class of the day.

"Sharpeye?" I stuttered.

"I know," she cut me over with a quivering voice.

I thought that we ditched that class. It used to be one of my favorites. In fact, it was also Raven's and Alexis's. That is why we dropped it; there are too many memories. In Salem Academy, the Huntresses were notorious for cross-breeding different species of plants. Our plants were often used in Herbology. Some (well, a lot) were examples in what not to do, but we fixed our mistakes. We learned about plants in Herbology then drew up plans for new plants. Professor Harris let us do it during class and counted it as extra credit. We goofed off a lot though, and spent most of the time signing different things to each other. We liked to breed plants that had funny pranks; we used them from time to time when people got stressed for midterms and finals. I remember our last Herbology class together.

Flashback

Viper, Sharpeye, and I bounded into the greenhouse. We had our arms linked together and Viper and I had a hybrid that we all bred in our free hand. They were our best crossbreeds, and we wanted to show how far we had progressed in breeding plants. Professor Harris was all for it. She was ecstatic. Me, I was just happy that our project was fun AND a success. We set the plants on a table and started talking to pass the time.

"We're early, aren't we?" Alexis asks.

I smile and mock-glare at Raven, "I told you that we had plenty of time to eat!"

Raven holds her hands up in surrender, "I'm nervous! This is the first time one of our plants goes public."

Alexis snorts, "So what do you call it when we use our plants for pranks? Undercover secret agent work?"

Raven rolls her eyes, and I laugh lightly. I notice that people were coming in. 'They're here' I signed. They nodded in acknowledgement of what I signed. Our conversation flowed into plans for the summer and things like that. Professor Harris took attendance then cleared her throat.

"Okay class, today we are not going to do anything with hands on work. Instead, we are going to listen to Alexis, Laurel, and Raven report on a few plants that they have crossbred. Listen carefully and don't interrupt them."

We took the two plants up to the front of the room. After a quick debate, (by debate I mean rock paper scissors) it was decided that I was to go first. With a sigh, I pushed one plant to the front of the desk that was placed there.

"This plant is called Dittany Aloe. Its parents are a mundane plant called aloe vera- a type of cactus- and the magical plant dittany. It takes some magic to get this plant because these two plants are extremely different, one being magical and the other mundane. This plant has inherited extremes from both of its parents when it comes to caring for it. From the aloe vera side, it has inherited the need to be in constant sunlight, it has to stay in dry soil, and it must be placed in temperatures that are between ninety and one hundred degrees or else it will freeze to death. That is from sunrise to sundown. From sundown to sunrise, it is different. It must be kept at temperatures ranging from sixty to sixty-two, and it must be in soaking wet soil. Mud suffices as well as long as it doesn't dry; it is easier to have to pots with different types of soil that best suit its needs and keep repotting it twice a day."

Raven started, "Dittany aloe has amazing healing properties that it inherited from both parents. It is also easier to collect the essence of this plant than dittany. Simply make a small incision in one of the leaves no bigger than a few millimeters and collect the essence in a small vial. By the time the essence finishes pouring out; there should be enough for a large scrape about the size of a hand. Unlike dittany, the plant doesn't wither or die, it simply makes more essence."

Taking a deep breath, Alexis began her part of the presentation, "The next plant," she gestured to the next one, "is a cross between the mundane plant poison ivy, the magical plant devil's snare, and the magical plant bubotuber. It has no name yet because we have yet to find a suitable one for it. It's up keeping is simpler than that of a dittany aloe plant. It prefers to live in shadier areas and more than an hour of sunlight will agitate it, causing it to lash out at people and animals around it. It requires being given water every three days. If given any sooner, it will drown. This plant has to be in soil that will hold about two thirds of the water given. This plant should be treated while wearing a pair if dragon hide gloves."

Raven finished off our report, "This plant is very dangerous and designed to be a line of defense. It can duck under the soil when given an activation phrase. This is so you don't make the area look suspicious. What this plant does is give painful boils wherever it touches that itch extremely badly. If a person grabs another person, they will be infected with boils as well. If the plant is stepped on by someone that is meaning to do harm or is meaning to steal something that the plant is guarding, it will wrap the person around in its long, tentacle like leaves. Depending on how bad the person's intentions are, the plant will either throw the person off of the property or strangle them to death. Those with non ill intentions will not be affected by any of these effects."

The class started clapping. I notice Raven sag slightly in relief and Alexis grin. We are all just glad it's over with. Class was dismissed and Professor Harris informs us that we deserved our extra credit and asks if she can keep our plants for future classes. We nod our heads happily. Then we go out to the quidditch pitch to relax a bit. We stay there looking up at the sky while listening to our iPods for about an hour, then leave to arrange our end of year party.

Flashback end

I was shaken out of my thoughts by Raven. She looked at me sadly. I always wondered if she could read my thoughts, she always knows what I am thinking. She slung an arm over my shoulder, and we solemnly walked to a class that the missing Huntress should have been in.

Raven pov

I slung my arm over her shoulder, giving and drawing strength from the contact. I knew what was going to happen as soon as I saw Herbology on our papers. We would both feel a little more broken. And we do. As Laurel and I followed Lily to Athrimancy, I reminisced about the day that I became friends with my fellow Huntresses.

Flashback

I sighed heavily as my messenger bag began sliding off my shoulder again. I tried to fix the length of the strap, but it wouldn't budge. Suddenly I was knocked onto my butt. As I look up getting ready to scream at whoever made me drop my bag, I saw a redhead with bright brown eyes apologizing rapidly.

"I am so sorry! Are you okay?" the girl asked.

I nodded dumbly. This was one of the few times that anyone has ever apologized to me without being sarcastic. I was shocked to say the least. The girl smiled brightly and introduced herself. She said that her name is Alexis. I introduced myself as well. Alexis admitted that she is extremely lost on her way to herbology and I just laugh. Together, we skip into the greenhouse that held our first herbology class of the year. We were twenty minutes late. The tables held groups of three, so Alexis and I sit next to a lonely looking girl with dark brown hair and forest green eyes. She mumbled a hello and quickly introduced herself before looking back up at the front of the room where the teacher was talking about this year's expectations are. Her name is Laurel. I sigh and start paying attention to what the (boring) teacher was saying.

I had been paying attention to the teacher for all of ten seconds when a piece of paper landed in front of me. I curiously read it.

-R

I'm bored. Hey, do you want to explore the school after lessons are over? =)

-A

-A

Sounds great. Meet me at the dorms at three fifteen?

-R

-R

Sounds goo-

-R and A

Stop writing notes to each other; you are going to get in trouble! We also have to take notes now!

-L

-L

We will be fine. Do you want to explore the school with us?

-A

Laurel never got to respond because at the moment that Alexis was about to pass the paper, the teacher descended on us like a hawk.

"Ladies!" she barked. "What do you think that you three are doing?"

I froze. I didn't know what to say; I just braced myself for punishment. Of all the things that I imagined happening, Laurel coming to the rescue wasn't one of them. She just didn't seem like the type to lie.

"I'm sorry if we were disrupting class Mrs. Harris. You see, Raven and Alexis don't know what they missed, so I was filling them in on what they had missed. I was also volunteering to help them to their next few classes so that they won't get lost. They don't want to be late again on their first day of school, and in good conscience, I can't let them be late to their other classes," she said in an innocent voice.

"Well...please wait until the end of my lecture to finish your conversation. It is good to help your fellow classmates. However, you should be aware that speaking while I am speaking is not allowed," the teacher responded after a moment of thought.

"Yes m'am," Laurel chirped.

The teacher, who I now know is Mrs. Harris, went back to teaching the class. I sighed quietly. I thought that we were going to get in trouble for sure. I saw Alexis relax out of the corner of my eye; she must have been nervous too. I decided to scribble a quick note to say thank you.

-L

Thanks for getting us out of trouble. Do you want to come exploring with Alexis and me? The offer is still on the table.

-R

I looked over at Laurel. She smiled and gave me a small, timid nod. I allowed a small smile grace my face. These people are my first friends, ever. Bullies can't call me "the friendless birdbrain." I have friends to protect me from the hurtful names and titles. They won't let me down. I'm sure of it.

Flashback end

I was forced from my thoughts when Laurel elbowed me in the arm. I stared at her. There was something in her eyes that told me she can't go through this alone. I squeezed her shoulder to tell her that I'm not going to let her down. She hasn't let me down at all since the day I met her; it's time for me to return the favor. We stepped into the Athrimancy room together. Let the torture begin.

I couldn't be there for my sister today. The memories of Alexis were in the forefront of my mind the entire day. I don't think that Laurel minded though. When I surfaced from my memories for a moment, she seemed to be lost in her own memories. I noticed that we were taking notes almost robotically. I guess I'm going to do some studying later on. The memories occupied my mind once more before I could review what was written. I continued like this until lunch, memories of a happier time dancing through my mind. A flash of a party here, a peek of a study session, a snippet of herbology class; any memory would play in my head.

I had a rare moment where my vision wasn't occupied by the visions of the past. I looked up surprised. I noticed that Laurel and I had grasped one of the other's shoulders. I sighed as I felt the weight of Laurel's hand on my shoulder. She is always there for me, even when she's not mentally here. I groaned as another memory was triggered. The last thing I saw before the memory engulfed my mind was Lily's hopeful face. I wonder why she looks so hopeful.

SMACK!

My face began stinging. I blinked as I was brought back to reality. I saw a livid Lily with a red palm. It didn't take a genius to realize that she slapped me.

"What is wrong with you two?" she all but yelled.

I glanced at Laurel. She had her head down and her eyes open, but glazed over. Laurel was stuck in her own memories. I felt like I had been sleeping for a long time, so I closed my eyes and shook all the cobwebs out of my head.

SMACK!

My eyes snapped open. In front of me, my best friend, my only family in the whole world was on her butt with a hand shaped mark on her cheek. I saw red. No. One. Hurts. My. Little. Sister. EVER. In a blink of an eye, I had taken a defensive stance over my sister. If anyone wanted to hurt her, they would have to go through me first. Lily looked at me in shock. The Marauders just watched the scene unfold.

"What's wrong with me? What is wrong with YOU? Slap me, punch me beat me to a bloody pulp, but don't touch Laurel. She is my only family left. I have no one else in the entire world with Alexis gone, and I can't survive Laurel leaving me like everyone else did. So. Do. Not. Lay. A. Hand. On. My. Sister. Okay?" I growled out threateningly.

Remus spoke up, I forgot the boys were there, "Raven, what do you mean that Laurel is your only family left? Who is Alexis?" he said tenderly.

I froze. Laurel, who was standing behind me, froze as well. I felt my eyes widen slightly before I put on my poker face. In my peripheral vision, I see Laurel's face harden. She isn't going to cry in front of them, neither will I. We share a look and simultaneously mouth 'run!' The Marauders and Lily can only watch as we hightail it out of there.


	5. Chapter 5

Laurel POV

We got lost within a minute of running away. We didn't care though; we just needed to get far away so that we could cry. Somehow we got outside. I was out of breath by then, so we slowed to a jog and looked for a place to hide. Raven spotted it; she led me to an area with small hills. We sat down in one of the valleys and did what we needed to do. We cried. The memories were hitting us relentlessly. The memories that were drowning us before are now torturing us with images of happy times. I curled into myself while Raven sobbed into my shoulder. I mentally cursed at the sky. Whatever deity that is out there must love to see our suffering. The pain clawing at my heart was too much to bear. Raven must be feeling the same because she was gripping my shirt tightly.

We stayed in the little valley crying for a while. I honestly don't know how long it took us too stop crying, but eventually, we did stop crying. I lie on my back and look at the clouds.

"Sharpeye?" I murmured.

"Yeah Razorfang?" she responds.

"I need to run. Do I have enough time?" I answer.

"We have half an hour. Let's go," she said.

I smiled a little. Raven knows that when I say that I need to run, I'm really saying let's go run/fly. We check our surroundings before transforming. Where we once stood is now occupied by a red tail hawk and a chocolate brown lioness. We nod once to each other then head to the Forbidden Forest. Once we get there, I sniffed the air. I didn't smell any dangerous creatures around, so I give Sharpeye the go ahead to explore the area. She does a broader search; she checks the area to make sure that there isn't anything that could give away our secret. When she returns, she winks at me then flies away at full speed. I smirk and sprint after her. Just because she can fly, that doesn't mean that she is faster than me. I do my own type of flying. Soon, I am running so fast that my paws barely touch the ground. For the first time in so long, I feel free. My grief isn't weighing me down for once. I let out a roar. Adrenaline was pumping through my veins, and I never wanted to stop running. Above me, Sharpeye let out an excited shriek. She was performing loop-de-loops and steep dives, all the while shrieking happily. I gave a growl-like chuckle. I jumped onto a tree so that I could run beside my friend. She glanced at me, eyes sparkling with excitement. She twirled in the air once more. Not to be outdone, I jumped up and did my own twirl in mid-air.

This was the beginning of a mini-contest. We performed flashy tricks while trying to outdo each other. I tried my hardest, but a certain hawk just couldn't be beat. I was about to give up when the funniest thing happened. A male hawk flew up to my dear friend. It seems that he is very impressed with her flying because he was trying to mate with her. She kept hitting him with her wings, but that hawk was persistent. He just kept coming back. I wanted to help, I really did. Unfortunately, I was too busy laughing. When she took a swipe at him with her claw, I decided to take pity on her. I leaped to the tree that they were fighting near and knocked the male out of the sky. He won't bother her anymore. When I look up from the unconscious form of the male, Sharpeye cuffs my head. It was her way off saying, "Why didn't you save my earlier?" I shrugged and went to where I left my watch. My eyes widened and I quickly shifted back.

"Raven! We only have five minutes to get to class!" I shrieked as I hefted my bag onto my shoulder.

With a squawk she landed besides me shifted into a human. She grabbed her stuff and we ran to the greenhouses as fast as we could. We would just barely make it to class. I felt so stupid. We should have dropped our stuff off at the greenhouses first. Stupid, stupid, stupid. We rushed into the classroom just before the teacher began attendance. We slid into seats towards the back of the room. I didn't have time to panic about my reaction to the class before, but now my feelings hit me full force. My memories once again pulled me into the depths of my mind. It was a stark contrast to the blissful feeling I had before. I didn't notice the concerned looks that Lily, Alice, and Dorcas sent Raven and I, nor did I see the all of the Marauders glance out way. Not long after being claimed by my nightmarish memories, I was being pulled from them. I sighed in relief; then I saw Prof. Beery's expression. She seemed annoyed and angry.

"Well, Ms. Anderson, is there a reason that you are not paying attention in my class? Do you deem this class irrelevant?" he demanded.

"I'm sorry professor. I don't consider this class irrelevant," I replied quietly.

"Well, answer these questions for me then. If you do I will let you off with a warning," the teacher said. "What is the difference between flitterbloom and devil's snare?"

"Flitterbloom and devil's snare are only alike in appearance. Flitterbloom is relatively harmless while devil's snare is deadly," I murmured just loudly enough for him to hear.

He nodded, "Okay, how is a cactus different from a mimbulus minbletonia?"

"Cacti have thorns as a defense mechanism while mimbulus minbletonia have boils," I whispered.

The professor nodded his head and gave the tiniest of smiles, "Thank you Ms. Anderson. Our first lesson will actually be about flitterbloom. What a perfect way to get into the lesson."

I nodded dumbly then went back to my memories. I wasn't going to willingly pay attention in this class today if I could help it. When the bell signaled class being over, I swiftly walked out. I didn't walk out fast enough. Lily sank her claws in me first.

"Laurel, Raven, come with us," she said bossily.

I sighed and looked at Raven. I'm not going if she can't control herself. She gave a small nod, indicating that she wouldn't hurt Lily because of what happened before. Lily led us to Dorcas and Alice. Then, we all went up to the Gryffindor tower. To be honest, I wasn't planning on answering their questions. I wasn't in the mood to pour my heart out to people I barely knew today. Wait, I'm NEVER in that mood.

"Guys," Alice started, "Are you okay?"

I just nodded my head curtly. I wonder when they will start asking about what they really want.

Lily's turn, "Well, last time I saw you guys, you seemed close to tears."

My stomach growled. I sighed and said, "Are you going to keep us here much longer? I'm hungry."

Raven snorted. I raised an eyebrow at her. 'What?' I signed. 'You are always hungry,' she replied. As the mature one, I did what any adult would do; I stuck my tongue out at her.

Dorcas chuckled, "Can you wait a few minutes? Or are you too hungry?"

I got an idea. If I veer them too off topic, they might forget why they dragged Raven and I up here. I signed my idea to Raven. She gave me the smallest of nods. It's go time. I began my dramatic act. "My hunger is too great!" I cried out. "My hunger is clawing at my insides. I am starting to feel faint." I "fell" onto the floor, "Will a kind soul get me some food? Please, I may only have seconds left!"

The last statement did Raven in. She started laughing. She didn't exactly laugh hysterically, but it was entertaining nevertheless. She just gestured to me while shaking her head. I think I heard her say "drama queen" and "worst actress ever." I pouted at the last one. I could have sworn that my acting was better than last time. After the last time I tried acting, I swore to never perform in front of a crowd again. The only ones who didn't make me feel bad about it were the other huntresses. Raven smiled and hugged me while...Alexis had given me flowers. It was a bittersweet day now that I think about it.

Flashback

"Ahhhhhhh!" I wailed. I was bawling. I had just finished trying out for Juliet for the play Romeo and Juliet. I was practically thrown off the stage. The crowd of people who were watching the auditions or trying out had snickered and made fun of me. Merlin, I felt awful. I just wanted to fulfill the dare that Viper gave me; I could have gone without the humiliation. I'm never acting or performing in front of a crowd ever again. It's not worth it. I let out another sob as I stepped into my dorm room. I could cry in peace here without any interruption.

Knock knock.

Apparently I can't.

"Razorfang," Raven called out, "please open the door."

"Fangie, come on, we just want to see you," Alexis said.

I whimpered a pathetic, "Come in," before burying my face in a pillow.

I felt a pair of arms hug me tightly. I leaned into the person hugging me, sobbing into their shirt. I glanced up to see it was Raven hugging me; I gave her a watery smile. She smiled back and let me cry on her shoulder. When I finished crying, I quietly thanked her. I was met with Raven's beaming face when I was done wiping my eyes. She was hiding something behind her back. She caught my curious gaze and her smile got even bigger.

"I know you are feeling bad right now," she started, "but these are for your outstanding performance and courage."

She then gave me a small bouquet of lilies. They represent happiness and adventure. I suppose that they are appropriate; the audition was a mini adventure and I could use some happiness right about now. I went over and gave Viper a hug; she always knew what to do to make me feel better; plus, I love lilies. I conjured a vase to put the flowers in and used aguamente to pour water on it. While I was at it, I also put a preservation charm on the flowers. They are so pretty, and I want them to last.

There was something bothering me, "Viper, how did you know that I like lilies?"

Alexis laughed, "Remember when I had to borrow your herbology book? You had a star near your favorite plants; it was pretty obvious.

Oopsie, oh well, I can't fix it now. I just laughed at my own obviousness. I heard Sharpeye giggle on the bed. I gave both of my friends a hug and we marched down to get dinner.

Flashback end

I quickly snapped out of the memory and waited for Lily to start yelling at me. When she didn't, I looked up and saw that Raven was distracting them. She must have noticed that my memories had gotten to me.

"...and that's why Laurel's title is professional drama queen," she finished.

I groaned, "I am not a drama queen."

"Sure you're not, and I'm the president," she retorted sarcastically. I sent a playful glare her way.

"Soooooo how about that food?" I said.

Dorcas answered, "The Marauders know where the kitchens are. Maybe they will show you where they are."

Raven and I were out of the room before she finished. We loped down the stairs and into the common room. The Marauders were heading up to the boys' dorms when we got downstairs. I was impatient now; acting hungry made me hungry. I'm not exactly pleasant when I'm hungry; so I've been told.

"James, Remus, Sirius, Peter!" I called. "Can I bother you guys for a minute?"

"Sure!" James called back as they walked towards us. Peter seemed reluctant to talk to us though.

"So how can we be of service? Do you two want to talk about earlier?" Sirius asked.

"Nope," Raven said, "we were wondering if you know where the kitchens are."

It looked like Sirius wanted to say something, but Remus cut him off, "We know where they are. Do you want us to show you?"

Raven and I nodded. We were glad that we weren't really asked about earlier. The guys led us out of the common room and down to the first floor then down into the dungeons where there was a picture of a bowl of fruit. Sharpeye and I looked at each other as if to say 'Did they try to play some stupid trick on us?' Then James tickled the pear and the painting swung open. I could have kicked myself; there is a trick! Sometimes I forget that I'm a witch. I should really try to remember. We stepped into the kitchen. The second that we set a foot in the room, we were swarmed by little creatures that I think are house elves. They all started asking what we wanted.

"Er...pasta with meat sauce," Raven said tentatively.

"Um...a spicy chicken sandwich with peppers," I ordered with wide eyes.

In a minute our orders were in our hands along with some desserts and water bottles. Raven and I stuttered out a thank you before the elves went back to preparing dinner. We went back to the common room with the Marauders, but we were still a little stunned.

James laughed at our faces, "You two have never seen house elves before?"

We shook our heads in unison while James and Sirius laughed at our shocked expressions. We composed ourselves and rolled our eyes. We couldn't say something because our mouths were full with some of the best food ever. I don't think that I can ever eat regular food again.

The Marauders went to their dorms afterwards. Knowing them, they were probably planning their next prank. After we finished eating, Sharpeye and I began roaming the castle. We had hours until dinner, so I'm sure that we won't be late if we get lost. Hours of wandering and a secret passage later, we were hopelessly lost. I had no idea where we are and neither did Raven. Finally, I ran into, or should I say through, the Hufflepuff ghost.

"Oh dear, shouldn't you two be at supper?" the Fat Friar asked.

"We are lost; we have no idea how to get to the Great Hall," Raven explained.

The Fat Friar smiled and began leading us to the Great Hall. Apparently, we were wandering the third floor when he found us. I was grateful that he found us; I don't fancy getting caught past curfew when I didn't know where I was. That would be awful.

We arrived at the Great Hall just as dessert was served. Raven looked at me as if to say, 'Dessert for dinner? What do you think?' I shrugged. Might as well eat while we're here, right? We got small dishes of ice cream and a bit of everything else. We sat in an almost secluded area at the table. It was as quiet as it could get.

"So, we survived," I sighed.

"Just barely," Raven muttered.

"It counts," I pointed out. "Good thing that tomorrow is Friday. We just have to endure one more day."

"We should try to really pay attention in class tomorrow," she said.

I nodded my head. We really should have paid attention today. Oh well, what's done is done. We finished our "dinner" and went back to the Gryffindor tower. It's early, but today was emotionally draining. I just want to read a few chapters of one of my books then go to bed. Raven is probably thinking the same thing because she led me upstairs. We flopped onto our beds and began reading; we were asleep before we finished the first half of our books. Unfortunately, she forgot to place silencing charms on her bed and I forgot to drink my dreamless sleep potion.


	6. Chapter 6

Raven POV

I am standing in a dark room. Actually, it doesn't feel like I'm standing; I feel like I'm floating. The darkness felt almost calming until...

"Raven!" a panicked voice called out.

I couldn't identify the voice, but I called out, "I'm coming! Don't worry!"

"Raven!" a second voice called out. It was much more panicked with traces of hysteria. "Hurry!"

I ran as fast as I could, but it wasn't fast enough. I felt sluggish, but I pushed my body to its limit. Subconsciously, I knew that whoever is calling for me is important. Dread took its place in the pit of my stomach; breathing became harder to do. I finally got out of the room and ran outside. The sight that greeted me almost made me hurl. There was obviously a car accident, but it looked worse than any car accident that I've ever seen on tv. A large SUV had crashed into a smaller black car. The driver of the SUV was unscathed; he just got out of his car and left. However, the black car was basically just a scrap of metal. The people in the car looked just as bad. In the driver's seat, a girl with fiery red hair had her head split open. I saw parts of her skull, and pieces of her brain were scattered on the pavement. Her body was mangled beyond recognition. There was blood everywhere. The passenger looked just as bad. She had brown hair that was matted down with blood. Her neck was bent at an odd angle, as if it's broken. A piece of glass is embedded in her eye and another piece is in her stomach. Her arm was completely torn off of her body. Blood was trickling out of her mouth like she was drooling. The whites of her eyes are blood red.

"Nononono," I muttered. "This isn't happening!"

"Raven," two hoarse voices called out in unison. "Raven..."

"Alexis! Laurel! Don't die on me!" I begged.

"This is your fault," Alexis said.

"You didn't save us. You should have saved us. We called for you; we depended on you," Laurel stated hoarsely.

"Why didn't you save us? Aren't we important to you?" the yelled together.

"You two are the most important people in my life," I sobbed out. "You two are my sisters."

"Shut up!" Laurel cried out.

"We hate you!" Alexis exclaimed.

"YOU LET US DIE!" they bellowed.

When I looked up, the mangled corpses of my best friends stood over me. They lunged at me as I screamed in terror and grief.

"Raven! Are you okay?! Wake up!" a shrill voice woke me up.

"Lily? What's up?" I asked groggily.

"You had a nightmare. Laurel is having one too; we can't wake her up," Lily explained.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Laurel was thrashing on her bed, screaming at the top of her lungs. Upon closer inspection, I saw that she had started crying too. Ignoring the fact that she had hit Dorcas and Alice repeatedly when they had gotten close, I dashed to my best friend. I saw rather than felt the few bruises she gave me when I tried getting close; I didn't know that she hits so hard. Eventually, I was close enough to hold her down. I called Lily over to take my place so that I could wake Laurel up. She managed to keep Laurel from hitting anyone as I held her head in my lap.

"Shhhhh Laurel. It's okay; it's just a dream. Wake up. That nasty dream can't hurt you if you wake up," I crooned softly.

Laurel's eyes snapped open and she stopped thrashing. She gasped as if out of breath. Wildly looking around, her eyes landed on me. Sobbing in relief, she threw her arms around me in her own version of a bear hug. She was mumbling incoherently; I could barely make out her saying, "Thank god" and, "I thought I lost you too."

I stroked her hair softly. Ever since Raven died, we both have been getting nightmares. As far as I know, she had been using dreamless sleep potions to keep the nightmares at bay this week. Telling her that the potion would be addicting hadn't stopped her from trying it. Now that she had forgotten the potion, not only do the nightmares come back, but the effects of withdrawal make them worst. It's time to start weaning her off the potion. There is no way that this can't be healthy.

Someone cleared their throat. Looking up, I saw Lily, Dorcas, and Alice looking at Laurel and me with concerned faces. I smiled weakly at them. This wasn't an uncommon occurrence. In the weeks following Alexis's death, we would often sneak over to the other's house after a nightmare seeking comfort. More often than not, the person who was sneaking in would have to wake the other up from a nightmare. It got to the point that I just started sleeping over her house. The people at the orphanage were more than happy to let me sleep over there. It meant that there was one less person to "care" for.

"Are you guys okay?" Alice asked.

"We'll be fine," I answered. "Just give us a second."

The girls nodded. I sighed and began what I call "The Nightmare Ritual." Laurel and I both went to the bathroom to wash our faces. Then, we conjured two glasses and poured water in them using the aguamente spell. Walking down the stairs, we sipped at our respective glasses in silence. We settled onto a couch near the large window and stared at the stars. Silently, we erased the nightmares that we had from our minds, letting the stars take over our thoughts. Twenty minutes later, we went back upstairs to find Dorcas, Alice, and Lily waiting on my bed.

"Soooo, what time is it?" Laurel asked as if she hadn't woken up from a horrific nightmare just twenty minutes ago.

"Ten thirty," Alice answered.

Really? I thought that it would be later. Usually I don't have nightmares until I've been asleep for at least a few hours. Shrugging, I just turn my attention to Lily, who was saying that we almost gave her a "bloody heart attack." Why do Brits say "bloody?" I really need to get used to British slang. It's just so weird!

"-and you guys were convulsing on your beds! Does this have something to do with Alexis? I understand that something bad happened, but we can't help you if you guys don't help us!" Lily ranted.

A quiet voice interrupted Lily, "Lily, do you trust us at all?"

Lily looked taken aback, "I guess I do trust you guys, at least a little. Considering I only met you two yesterday, I think that I trust you a lot."

Laurel's quiet, tired voice rang out clear as a bell in the otherwise silent room, "Then do you trust us enough to tell you when we are ready? We are all friends here, or I like to think that we are. Let Raven and me come to you guys instead of you guys coming to us. I realize you guys care, but forcing us to tell you a secret that we would rather keep to ourselves for the time being isn't going to help either of us. Not now, not ever."

Lily looked at Alice and Dorcas. They looked shocked that the normally not that deep Laurel would say something like that. It didn't surprise me; this side of her came out often after Alexis's death. I think that she overdosed on tragedy books. Those are the only books that I remember Razorfang read over the summer. I heard Lily sigh. I guess that means that she finally gives up. My suspicions were confirmed when Alice gave Laurel and me huge hugs.

"Okay," she said. "we understand."

Thus, an understanding was reached between us girls. Alexis is a forbidden subject until Raven and I decide that we have healed enough to finally open up to them. Until then, "mum" is the word. Now all we have to worry about is the Marauders…


	7. Chapter 7

Laurel pov

The next day was so much better than the first one. Breakfast was a much quieter affair than yesterday. In a way, it's a relief; I don't think I could've handled seeing the snakes again. Then again, no true prankster does the same exact prank twice. Having been a prankster when Alexis was…alive, I know a few things about that particular topic. Dorcas, Lily, Alice, Raven, and I were just enjoying our breakfasts. True to their word, none of the girls brought up Alexis. Instead, we talked about the first day of school and the Marauders. Lily had a lot to say about the latter subject.

"They always pick on my friend Sev!" she complained. "What did he do to them? Absolutely nothing! All he's ever done is fight back in self defense! It is not fair to him! Plus, do you know how much work that we prefects get because of them! It is unbelievable! You would think that with Remus being a prefect that they would slow down so their friend doesn't lose his badge! They don't slow down at all! They get away with so much more! Plus, Potter keeps hitting on me all the freaking time! He obviously does it to annoy me! Can't he just leave me alone? I don't want to have to listen to the biggest bloody prat in the world!"

Alice, Dorcas, Raven and I just looked at her amusedly. If we tried to defend the Marauders at all, we would probably be hexed into the next century. Hm... I think that I can dodge whatever she throws at me. If I can't, Raven has my back. Besides, the Marauders can't be that bad.

"Lily, they can't be that bad. They made Raven and me feel welcome here when we were on the train," I stated calmly.

"Ugh! You aren't listening to me Laurel! They only care about their little prankster group and making trouble! Sirius is a huge player and was just trying to get in your pants, James is a hopeless flirt, Peter just follows them like a lost little puppy dog, and Remus...was probably the only one who genuinely wanted to welcome you to Hogwarts there! But don't be fooled by his kindness because Remus is an evil mastermind when it comes to pranks. Once I heard him planning to turn everything in the Great Hall into chocolate! They are ALL bad!" she ranted.

"I knew there was a reason that the prank hadn't worked," Sirius grumbled from his seat three seats down.

"Hey Evans!" James loped up to where we sat.

James squeezed between Lily and Alice across from Raven and me while Sirius sat on Raven's left and Remus on my right. Peter sat next to Sirius looking a little disgruntled. I guess Peter doesn't really like his fellow Marauders sitting with us, or he heard Lily's comment about him. Well that's too bad for him. Sirius started grumbling incoherently all of a sudden. James looked pretty upset too. Remus just looked really amused at his friends' abrupt behavior change.

"Remus," I whispered, "what has their wands all tied up in a knot? They look like someone killed their puppy then stomped on it before throwing it in a lake."

Remus chuckled at the metaphor and pointed to Ravenclaw that was walking to his table, "That is Casey White and he is the Ravenclaw team captain. Last year, Gryffindor had a humiliating defeat by Ravenclaw. James and Sirius were upset that their "superior" quidditch techniques hadn't won them the match. The only way Gryffindor could win the quidditch cup that year was if Hufflepuff crushed Ravenclaw. She however," Remus motions to a smiling blonde Hufflepuff, "was sick and there weren't any reserve seekers available, so Ravenclaw won by default. Those two have been very...upset since then. They swore eternal vengeance on Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff."

I stared at Remus like he just grew two heads. Then I glanced at Sirius and James disbelievingly. Are James and Sirius really that upset? Who holds a grudge over something like that? What I was thinking must have been written all over my face because Remus chuckled.

"Yes," he said, "they are still very upset about it. Now that James is captain though, he will be hard on the team so they don't lose."

"...and we will win!" James ended.

"Huh?" was James listening to us talk? Wow, weird.

Raven chuckled, "James was telling me that he is going to lead the Gryffindor quidditch team to victory. Hey James, didn't you say that you guys need a chaser and a seeker since last year one of your chasers and your seeker graduated?" Oh please no...

"Yeah, we do. Why?" James responds.

"Oh no reason. No reason at all James," I say before Raven signs us up to play quidditch for the madman.

"Actually," Raven gets an evil look on her face, "We want to know when tryouts are."

Oh god. I don't want to! What if James schedules practices so often that I die? (If what Remus says is true, I don't put it past him.) I am too young to die! Raven must have noticed my distress because she patted my shoulder as if to say, 'It'll be okay. Trust me."

I sigh. The last time I was told that my best friend and fellow Huntress died. But... I trust Raven. If I can't trust Sharpeye, who can I trust? My trust doesn't exactly come easily. I still don't completely trust these Hogwartians, and my trust of authority figures disappeared years ago when Raven told me about her home life...

Flashback

I tore through the halls of Salem Academy. For once in my life, I am going to be early for a Huntress meeting! I glanced at my watch, only twenty minutes until the meeting starts. The meeting place isn't that far, so maybe I can fix some of my cross breeding plans and my prank plans. I was thinking about doing something with flitterbloom. It won't take more than five minutes and I'll still be early to the meeting. I looked out at the lush fields that surrounded the school and chose an area that had a shady tree and was about thirty yards from the meeting spot. Since it's still September, the grass is still green and it is still incredibly hot. I sighed happily and plopped down onto a particularly shady area. I was about to plug in my iPod which I got last year. 'Thank god for babysitting jobs!' I thought. Then, I heard a muffled sob followed by a wail. Curious about the sound and worried for the person or thing crying, I gathered my things and searched for the source of the sounds. I was surprised when the sounds led me to the meeting place; I was even more surprised when I saw Raven curled up into a ball heavily sobbing.

I gathered her into a hug. "Sharpeye, Raven, what's the matter?" I asked gently. When I got no answer, I realized that she was sleeping. Raven never ignores Alexis or me.

I know that I'm not supposed to wake someone up when they're having a nightmare, but Raven looked like she was in pain! What else can I do? The girl who is the big sister I never had is crying her eyes out! I racked my brain for a spell that would wake her up gently or stop the dream.

Wait...that spell wasn't made for this purpose but, "ENERVATE!"

Drowsily, Raven opened her eyes. She was still breathing heavily, and tears still ran down her face, but at least she wasn't convulsing anymore. Her eyes widened when she saw me hovering worriedly over her still trembling form.

"Laurel! What are you doing here?" she asked flustered.

I pulled her into a hug, "Sharpeye, what were you dreaming about? Please tell me, you can tell me anything!" I tell her soothingly.

Raven thought for a moment; most likely she was weighing the pros and cons. It seems that the pros outweighed the cons, "Well," she started, "you know that I live in an orphanage right?" I nod. "Well, I used to be bullied a lot. It got to the point that this group of people would beat me up daily just because I was different. My accidental magic was usually aimed to protect me from them. They would bully me even more because of that. Every summer it gets worse. Why do you think I buy so much foundation? To cover the bruises. The nightmare I had is based on their "goodbye" for me. They threatened to kill me!" Raven was sobbing now. "They even had a knife on them! All I could think was that you guys wouldn't know that I died, and you guys would thing I ditched you!"

"Why don't you tell the adults? They'll help you!" I suggested trying to ignore that she was more worried about Raven and me than her own life.

"They don't listen!" she said bitterly. "They brush it off. Apparently, they can't focus on fixing the bullying when they have important lunch breaks to go on." She started sobbing again.

"Shhhhh, it's okay now. It's okay. They aren't here. They won't hurt you," I consoled the trembling girl.

Even though I looked calm on the outside, I was boiling with rage on the inside. What did she ever do to them to warrant this? When summer comes around, Alexis and I will be busting some heads. No one gets away with hurting our big sister. NO ONE! If I'm really subtle, which normally im not, I might even get away with shipping those two bullies out of the country. I'll send them to Africa, no, the Amazon Rainforest. They'll never hurt Raven again. Not if I have anything to say about it.

Alexis arrived to our meeting place later to see Raven's head on my shoulder while she slept. Poor Raven had cried herself to sleep after telling me her story. I quietly relayed the story to the reptilian animagus. While her expression was calm, her eyes held a rage that Satan himself would never master and even be afraid of.

The Huntresses' meeting officially began immediately after that while Raven slept. Today's pranks are planned for a certain group of bullies. Those people will go through hell for what they did to our sister and best friend. Raven will be avenged.

Flashback end

I am jerked back to reality when Sirius asks me to pass the toast. I oblige after subtly using sign language to tell Raven that I'll go to tryouts even though I don't want to.

The rest of the day was rather easy. It helped that there is no Herbology today. I made up for my inattentiveness yesterday by participating in class as much as Lily and Remus. My hand was constantly in the air asking questions and providing answers when the situation called for it. Raven wasn't too far behind me. We were model students today. Last period was never so welcome; especially since last period is a free period. We spent our free period pouring over books on Spanish and French. There are surprisingly few books on the subject. I found only two books on French while Raven only found four on Spanish.

"This is kind of sad," I remark after sitting down at one of the tables.

"No kidding! I swear that there are more books on gobbledygook and mermish than on mundane languages," Raven sighs.

"Well, this is what we have to work with. Let's pick the best books and check them out. We are both mastering these two languages if it kills us. Hogwarts isn't teaching us, so we will teach each other," I state.

"I still can't believe that foreign language isn't a course here. It's not right," Raven mumbled.

I nod sympathetically. No one loved foreign language class more than Raven. She loved learning Spanish. I love French; don't get me wrong, but Raven has a passion for Spanish. I have a good teacher to teach me Spanish now. (I never liked my Spanish teachers all that much.)

Raven and I spent the rest of the day looking at the books. We want to teach each other, so we started making curriculums of sorts. I only had the first two months' lessons when Raven and I were interrupted by a quartet of people.

"Well if it isn't the newest gryffindork duo," a pretty girl with long black hair sneered while flipping her hair. She kind of looks like Sirius, except Sirius doesn't look like he stepped it dog crap.

"Now now Bella, there is time to salvage them," a bleach blond guy said seriously. "We want to help you." Somehow I doubt that. "You girls don't have to associate with Gryffindor scum. You can make ties with the elite of the magical world. Both of you can join us in cleansing the world of mudblood scum."

I stared at him for a moment. Then I glanced at Sharpeye. Then I laughed in his face. Loudly. This is a great joke. This guy couldn't be serious! What he is proposing is so old fashioned that it's not even funny.

"What are you laughing at?" Blond dude asked.

"Oh don't tell me you're serious!" I said incredulously.

"I told you that this wouldn't work," the guy with greasy black hair remarked. "They have already been contaminated by those...marauders."

Raven, being the calmer of us, spoke next, "May we at least know your names. It's rude that you didn't tell us them. If you really are the," she sneered the last part,"elite of the magical world, you_ must _know your manners."

The same blond answered, "Of course. That, "he gestured to the girl version of Sirius, "is Bellatrix. This is her cousin, "he pointed to another Sirius lookalike," is Regulus. Standing next to Regulus is Severus and I am Lucius."

"Okay, well Lucius, Severus, Bellatrix, Regulus, we are busy right now. Please leave us alone." Raven politely said.

The quartet of Slytherins had no time to respond when another quartet came.

"Snivellous, are you bothering these two lovely ladies?" James began.

"It's not nice to gang up on helpless girls," Sirius continued.

'Helpless?' I signed to Sharpeye. She just shrugged.

"Hypocrites," Severus muttered.

"What did you say?" Remus demanded.

"We were just leaving," Lucius cut in. "Goodbye."

With that, the Slytherin quartet left.

AN: Review please. They keep my muse alive.


	8. Chapter 8

Hey guys. I know that this is one of the only authors notes that I've ever left, but it's important so beat with me. I haven't gotten a review for this story in months. As you can imagine, this has lowered my confidence in my writing. A lot. I've come to a decision, I can either shut down my story and delete it, or I can keep the story. I am leaving the decision up to you readers. You can either review or pm me to tell me to keep the story or you can do nothing and I'll put down the story. Now, for the people who want to keep the story(if there are any) I decided to give you guys a sneak prevew of the next chapter. I don't want to post another chapter until you guys tell me if I should keep the story. Without further adieu, let the preview begin!

Raven pov

I watched the Slytherins retreat from the library disbelieving me. I remember the Marauders telling Razorfang and me about Slytherins, but they are so blatant about it! They must be arrogant enough to think their blood will keep them from getting in trouble. Well, they won't get off easy if they bother Laurel or me. A few boils could do wonders for their attitudes. Oh, well. I have more pressing manners to attend to. For example, there are three Gryffindors who must think Laurel and me weak. If they didn't, they wouldn't have swooped in and "saved" us. We can take care of ourselves. There is no way we would have been able to pull off the parties and the pranks if we didn't have each others' backs. There were a few too many close calls. The one that first comes to mind is one of our first escapades.

Flashback

"Are…. you sure we should do this? This is really risky, and we could get in serious trouble! I don't want detention!" Laurel whisper-shouted.

"Don't worry Laurel! The headmistress secretly loves pranks. I heard from a third year that they overheard her saying that she likes when the students keep everyone lively and on their toes with pranks. We won't get into real trouble unless someone gets hurt more than a bruise. Trust me," Alexis chirped.

Laurel grumbled something incomprehensible. Stifling a laugh, I led the other two to the cafeteria.


	9. Chapter 8 (the real deal)

Hey guys! Thanks to all of the reviewers who said that they want to keep the story going, especially those who answered the first day! I was really ready to throw in the towel and what you guys said really made my week. I'm sorry that I took so long to update. I had this whole chapter written when I posted the faux chapter 8. Unfortunately, when I was about to post this chapter, I decided that I hated what I did with it. So I deleted it and started fresh. That's when writer's block hit me. Fortunately, with hurricane Sandy hitting my area and the power being out, I didn't have much of an excuse to not work through my writer's block. (Looks at big wall labeled writer's block) I have a lot of work to do. (Grabs hammer and begins hacking at the wall)

Raven pov

I watched the Slytherins retreat from the library disbelievingly. I remember the Marauders telling Razorfang and me about Slytherins, but they are so blatant about it! They must be arrogant enough to think their blood will keep them from getting in trouble. Well, they won't get off easy if they bother Laurel or me. A few boils could do wonders for their attitudes. Oh, well. I have more pressing manners to attend to. For example, there are three Gryffindors who must think Laurel and me weak. If they didn't, they wouldn't have swooped in and "saved" us. We can take care of ourselves. There is no way we would have been able to pull off the parties and the pranks if we didn't have each others' backs. There were a few too many close calls.

Flashback

"Stupefy!" Alexis shrieked.

The minotaur growled annoyed. Its head swiveled to glare at the ginger who kept it from its brunette lunch. Its fists clench at its sides. Even though it had the body of a man, its attacks were not completely unlike a wild bull's. The moment it set its eyes on her, it charged. Alexis immediately scrambled up a nearby tree. I jump back down from my tree. We have been doing this for an hour. Our teacher wanted our class to observe the thestrals that live deeper in the forest. Admittedly, the thestrals were very interesting. That was of course, until the minotaur detected meat and attacked our class. Everyone scattered. Unfortunately, the minotaur came after us. We didn't notice this until we stumbled upon the little clearing that we are in now. Taking a two minute break was the worst idea I have ever suggested in my life. Laurel saw the minotaur and pulled Alexis and me out of the way just before it hit us. She was instantly knocked out. We've been guarding her prone form since by taking turns gaining the minotaur's attention. She's still alive, I can see her breathing, but I have no clue when she is going to wake up. The minotaur began advancing towards a stirring Laurel again. She's going to wake up soon; we only have to wait a little longer. Quickly, I sent a tripping jinx toward the monster. The beast snarled at me and charged. I attempted to scramble up the tree behind me, but I slipped and was sent hurtling toward the minotaur.

A ferocious roar full of anger resonated in the clearing. When I hit the ground, what I saw wasn't a hungry minotaur about to strike, but a lioness attacking the minotaur. There are no lions in this part of the United States! How did it get here? But now's not the time to worry about that. Laurel, Alexis, and I can get away! I race over to where Laurel was laying. She's not there anymore! I exchange looks with a frantic Alexis. It is times like these that I wish that I can do a full animagus transformation. I would be able to scope out the area as a hawk. Sadly, I can only do a partial transformation. Alexis is the only one who has achieved full transformation out of the three of us. Laurel can barely get a paw for more than a minute. I look away from my frantic search for my friend to see the minotaur fleeing in fear. The lioness really did a number on it; there were cuts and bite marks littering its entire body. When the minotaur was gone, the lioness's attention was focus on me. She slowly approached me. I drew my wand out unsurely. This lioness just saved my life. Should I really attack it? Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Alexis draw her wand and point it steadily and the big cat walking towards me. When it was right next to me, it purred. Why is it _purring_? The lioness cocked her head then lifted a paw to swipe at the ground as if she was writing. When she was done, what was on the ground _was_ writing. It said: help. I can't change back into human form. It's me Laurel. I can't believe that I reached full transformation! My eyes bulged. Laurel finally achieved a full transformation because she saw the minotaur attacking me?

Alexis jumped down from the tree. Of course, because she's Alexis, she ended up falling on her side. Laurel and I hurried to her side, Laurel slightly limping. We picked up the groaning girl and steadily made our way to the borders of the forest. The walk felt like it lasted hours. It probably did, considering that everyone was injured in a way. Laurel got hurt fighting the minotaur, Alexis landed on her hip when she fell, and I fell out of a tree. Realizing that the forest is nowhere near safe (the teachers omitted that little fact), we all kept up a partial animagus transformation. I put my hawk eyes on, Laurel kept her kitty ears up, and Alexis put on her snake tongue. Combined, we could sense creatures from miles around. When we were close to the edge of the forest, we dropped the transformations. Tired and haggard, we were worse off than anyone in the class. Our roommate Natalie cried out when she saw us. Everyone wanted to know what happened. Laurel, the storyteller and fabricator, told the story omitting the illegal animagus part.

"- and I woke to find it attacking Raven! So I transfigured a rock into a lion and made it attack the minotaur. The monster fled with its tail between its legs," she made up.

All I could think throughout this was, "thank god we were together." I don't think that I would've made it out if I was alone. I need people who have my back. Who better than my best friends who are always there for me? I'm so relieved right now.

"Couldn't we have just used reducio and stepped on it like a bug?" Laurel asked.

Of course she thinks of that _now_.

Flashback end

"So what are you doing here? I thought that Sirius was allergic to books," Laurel teased good-naturedly.

Sirius's eyes lit up. "You are absolutely right Laurel! I have to get out of here quick!" Sirius laughed before attempting to run out of the library.

Remus rolled his eyes before grabbing the back of Sirius's shirt to keep him from leaving. "We are here for James believe it or not," he explained.

I raised an eyebrow, "I don't believe it at all."

"I'm back!" James appeared suddenly.

What? When did he leave? I thought that he was right next to Sirius…But there he is with a small stack of books. Quick as a flash, Laurel snatched the books out of his hands. Is there something interesting there? Seeing as a look of dread then amusement cross her face, I would guess so.

"Really James? I don't think that "Twelve Ways to Woo a Witch" will help you with Lily. She won't fall for cheap tricks from a book. She is definitely more intelligent than that. Winning her heart isn't going to be that easy. And….."The Top 10 Most Rigorous and Effective Quidditch Training Techniques." Are you trying to kill your team? I feel sorry for the poor suckers. They aren't going to have time for school! Plus-" Laurel began ranting.

"Aren't you trying out for the Gryffindor Quidditch team?" James questioned with a smirk, unaffected by Laurel's rant.

Unable to come up with a comeback, Laurel fumed silently while sending glares at me. Oh right, I volunteered her to try out. Even though she is a decent player, she has a huge hatred of brooms that fly. She refuses to even think about it; Alexis and I learned that after she threw a tantrum when we asked her about it. I am really hoping to get her out of that. Hating something so thoroughly and not letting people help is not good for her. We can't afford to keep things like that bottled up, especially now that we are missing a Huntress. I know that whether she tells me her problem or she gets into the air that I'm forcing her hand. Personally, I hope that she comes to me, but her pride will make her take to the air. I am not stupid; she is a prideful person.

"So when is practice?" I ask. I want to get this over with sooner rather than later.

"Next week after everyone is completely settled in," Sirius said while a disgruntled James grumbled something about not enough practices.

Laurel visibly calmed down with those words. I guess that now she is going to try to find an excuse to not go now that she has time to make it look convincing. Now I have to look out for that. Great. Laurel has an evil smile on her face now. Sirius and James look kind of scared. I say kind of because they are trying so hard to not edge away from her. Chuckling, I whack Laurel upside the head.

"Laurel, you are scaring them!" I chastise.

Laurel blinks confusedly before spotting the two Marauders who are now about three feet from where they were originally. She didn't even try to disguise her laughter. She knows that she can be really scary without meaning to when she is plotting. The fact that the two Marauders were trying to get away from her wasn't what was so humorous to her. It was the fact that they were trying to be subtle about it. Most people back home just get up and walk away from her, glancing back every once and a while to make sure that their backs are covered. It is a delightfully hilarious change of pace for my evil little friend. It meant that she could have some fun with them. She changed the expression on her face to resemble a slightly hurt expression before turning to the two attempting to be subtle about trying to leave.

"Why are you two trying to leave?" she asked. "I didn't scare you guys did I? Of course I didn't! How could little old me scare the _Marauders_? Besides Remus isn't going anywhere."

She's right. Remus was still in the same place he was before, albeit now he has a book in his hand. Wait a second; Remus wasn't holding a book before. In fact, wasn't James the one with books in his hands?

_Thud!_

Not anymore. By the way that James is gesturing his hands, I'm guessing that he dropped his books while talking to my pouting sister. Poor Sirius and James, they must think that they hurt her feelings. I check my watch. It's five o' clock. Laurel and I better do our homework. Luckily it's mostly review stuff. We will hardly need to do any research. Sighing at the pointlessness of giving homework on material we learned ages ago, I dragged Laurel to our seats and proceeded to do my homework with her. We finished up in about half an hour. Afterwards, we headed outside to where the lake is and sat down under a shady tree.

"Thank god it's Friday! Worst first two days ever!" Laurel groaned.

"I know. I thought that today would never end. Hogwarts is so different from Salem. It is freaking castle with secret passages! We hardly ever had this problem at home!" I responded.

"Do you regret it?" Laurel practically whispered.

"No. This is good for us. We need this even though it doesn't seem like it right now. We would have been bombarded with worse feelings back home with all of the memories…." I trailed off. The "of Alexis" was not said, but still implied.

Laurel nodded her head slowly, "I guess so, but it doesn't hurt any less."

I reached over and hugged her. There is nothing that I can say to that because it's true. I feel it walloping me over and over again whenever I even think of the fallen Huntress. Things will get better though; they have to get better for Laurel at least. This somber girl that is solemnly staring out at the lake isn't the bouncy upbeat girl that I've known since that herbology class so long ago. Even if things don't get better for me, they have to get better for her. She's like my little sister, and I will do anything to have her back.

_**Anything….**_

Well, there is chapter eight(the real one anyway). I'm really sorry for the delay, but I'm trying my best. As long as there is interest in my story, I'll manage to post something. Just be patient, it's crunch time at my school so my posts will be sporadic until December. And send a quick prayer or something to the people affected by Hurricane Sandy. A lot of people are having it tough right now, and they need any luck and support they get.


	10. Chapter 9

Laurel pov

We stayed by the Black Lake immersed in our thoughts until the sun set. The sun sets really early here, at around 6:15. There's still a while until dinner; they serve it at 7:30. Maybe there is enough time to run and stretch out my limbs. I turn to Raven, whose arm is still around me and begin to speak only to find out that she fell asleep. Her face isn't peaceful though; it's worrisome and she is murmuring under her breath. I got her arm off of me and put her head in my lap.

"Raven, wake up. Come back to Laurel. Everything is okay," I croon softly.

Instead of waking up, her face only creases further. She begins whimpering and cringing away from something that only she can see behind her closed eyelids. Since I can't wake her, I have to help her ride out the nightmare. Apparently using enervate to wake someone from a nightmare has a 3% chance of trapping the person in their nightmare until they die. They usually have a heart attack a few days after they are first trapped in the nightmare. I don't completely understand it, but Raven said that now we are only allowed to use enervate if there is an absolute emergency and Alexis seconded it so it is an official Huntress' rule. If I break it, Raven will decide my punishment. Don't get me wrong, I love Raven to death, but she can be a little sadistic with her punishments. She doesn't hurt anyone, but she does an amazing job of making the punished feel awkward and uncomfortable. Once, she made me speak literal gibberish for a day. I got four detentions and a lot of people were afraid to talk to me the next day because of that punishment. No one would even look at me for two days!

I digress. My best friend is having a full blown nightmare and I am thinking about her being sadistic. She begins thrashing about as if having a seizure; her face is the picture of fear. I hate seeing my friend so vulnerable when she has almost always been the strongest person in my life. After my father died, she was my rock and became the strongest person I knew. Ever since Alexis died, I've been seeing my rock begin to crumple. It is the small things that show her true state. The way her voice hitches whenever she says Alexis's name, the way she inhales sharply at the sound of her name, the way her eyes shine with unshed tears whenever she looks at me when she thinks I'm not looking, they are all signs that subtly show her not being as stable as she once was. As I hold my pseudo sister in my arms to stop her thrashing, I contemplate what to do with her. If someone sees us, it'll bring up way too many questions and we already have too many from Lily alone. If I use enervate, there will be consequences and if I don't someone might see her in this state. Sighing, I simply hold her tighter to me and ask her to wake up.

"Please wake up. I hate seeing you like this," I whisper sadly.

Raven's wails of fear are reverberating through the area. I wish that sounds didn't have to echo so much here. I can hardly hear the pounding footsteps over Raven screaming. Great, someone who is "concerned" is coming. The sound of footsteps is getting louder. Dead-set on ignoring whoever came to investigate the screams, I once again began trying to gently wake my best friend. I didn't hear anything besides Raven, so I assumed the person left. Then, said person walked in front of me. Grudgingly, I looked up at the person who had the gall to just walk up to us. It was Sirius; no, it was that guy who was with that blondie boy. What was the blondie's name? Lucy? Looshy? No, it was Lucian! That's it! Anyway, why is he here? Is he going to hurt us because he is an "evil Slytherin?"-Sirius's words, not mine. Knowing that Raven and I are in weak positions, I set Raven down gently and stepped in front of her body protectively, my eyes leaving the Sirius lookalike.

"Hello," I said crisply, my hand subtly sliding to my wand.

The guy appraised me with cool eyes, but there was something not quite right, as if he had to work to achieve that look, as he replied, "Hello."

"Any particular reason you decided to grace me with your presence?" I asked sarcastically.

He just raised an eyebrow and gestured to the still screaming form of Raven. Looking at her, I felt my cool mask fall and be replaced with the grief and sadness that have been trying to pushing away. Realizing that my façade was no longer in place, I quickly put it back in place. It was too late. The Sirius lookalike was now appraising me with a thoughtful look on his place. Then he caught my eyes and glared at me. He then pulled out his wand before I could react and cast a spell headed towards Raven. I had no other choice. I jumped in front of Raven. I barely registered the Slytherin's surprised face before I was knocked out.

When I woke up, I immediately looked for Raven, my own injuries being far from my mind. Imagine my confusion when I saw that I was not in or near Hogwarts at all but in my old dorm at Salem. As was usual, I was the second to last on up with Raven being the first up. When she saw my bewildered face, she smiled and motioned towards the final sleeping figure in the room, Alexis. I started hyperventilating. Alexis died! I saw it with my own eyes! I dream about it almost every night! This can't be real! I was just at Hogwarts with that guy and Raven was having a nightmare! Before I knew it, I had curled myself into a ball. Two sets of arms circled around me. I looked to my right to see the comforting ice blue eyes that can only belong to Raven. I hesitated slightly before turning to my left. My eyes connected to the warm dark brown eyes that I thought that I would never see again. With a strangled sob, I threw myself at the redhead who I thought was dead. Clinging to her, I cried my heart out. Hands began stroking my hair and back. The one stroking my hair must be Alexis; she always loved playing with mine or Raven's hair. Loves I mean. I can use present tense now.

"Laurel, did you have a bad dream? Do you want to talk about it?" Raven asked.

"Why didn't you wait for her to say yes?" Alexis cut in before I could answer.

"We do know the same person right? Laurel would just say no. Plus, it is pretty obvious that she had a bad dream if the way that she is holding on to you is any indication," Raven replied.

"I'm fine guys, really. It was just a really bad nightmare that I would rather forget. Besides, what time is it?" I yawned.

"Erm, it's about ten. It's a good thing that today is Sunday. How about we get something to eat?" Raven said.

We agreed to get some breakfast after we washed up. I rushed through getting ready. My nightmare is still fresh in my mind, and I am scared that if I leave them alone for a long time, my friends will disappear. When I finished getting ready, my friends took a look at my choice of clothes and rolled their eyes. It's no secret that Sunday is my lazy day and I am almost always wearing sweats on lazy days. Raven has always been a jeans girl and only reserves sweatpants for when she really is in a rush or can't be bothered with her appearance. She understands it, and does it once a month with me, but she doesn't get why I do it every week. Alexis, the fashionista of the group, was mortified when she discovered my Sunday outfits. The look on her face was priceless. I chuckle at the memory of an eleven year old Alexis explaining why sweats are absolutely, positively evil.

Flashback

I grinned as I waved at my roommates. They are nice, but next year I'm hoping to bunk with people who I can talk to without getting omg-ed to death. I left my room and walked down the hall to Raven's room. We promised to meet Alexis in the first years' common room an hour before lunch. We have about five minutes to get there. Raven opened the door just after I knocked.

"So what do you think has Alexis so excited?" Raven asked after we said our hellos.

"I don't know. Maybe she found a charm that will conjure up her dream clothes," I joked.

"She would have loved that," Raven replied.

We arrived at the common room not long afterwards. Alexis was nowhere to be seen, but considering that we are a few minutes, I don't expect much else. Even though I've only known Alexis for a little less than a week, it's apparent that she is either right on time or a few minutes "fashionably late." Oh well, hopefully today she is going to be on time. Today luck was definitely on my side because about a minute later Alexis showed up. If only she wasn't screaming at me.

"Laurel! What _are_ you wearing!" she screeched in a way that would make a banshee jealous.

I looked down at my outfit. Nothing seemed wrong to me. I have a gray t-shirt with a koala on it and purple sweatpants. This isn't anything odd or out of the ordinary, a lot of people dress like this. It's comfortable. Bewildered by the girl screaming like a banshee, I cautiously answer, "I'm wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants?"

"No! You are wearing a monstrosity! How dare you wear sweats! Sweats are EVILLLLLLLL!" Alexis made a scene.

I was struck with the sudden urge to learn the spell that allows technology to absorb magic in a way that recharges it rather than harm it. It would really come in handy right now. Despite the fact that I am being yelled at, I was feeling more amused at my friend's antics by the second. Raven for once, had a dumbstruck look on her face. Even though we know that Alexis is a fashionista by nature, neither of us ever would have thought that she would have such a bad reaction to sweatpants.

"-they aren't even Juicy Couture!" she's still ranting.

I decide to stop her right there, "Alexis! Today is Sunday and I always wear sweats on Sunday. If you want, you can dress me up on Saturday, when we don't have to wear our school uniforms."

Alexis huffed. She is just going to have to deal with it. Then, she smiled mischievously before running off.

"Alexis! Wait!" Raven groaned. "We are never going to find out what she found now."

I groaned too; not because I wanted to know what Alexis found, but because Alexis is now going to torture me with fashion.

Flashback end

We entered the café. It was basically full. The three of us went to the buffet to pick up our food before sitting down at our regular seats. We spent the entire time talking and making plans for our next party.

_ The nightmare helped me; now I don't take this for granted…_

Third Person Pov

Lily rushed over to the Marauders at supper. She had been looking all over the castle for Laurel and Raven. Her sources (a.k.a. Severus and some Ravenclaw friends) told her that the two were last seen with the Marauders in the library. She was dubious at first, the marauders are never in the library, but she hasn't seen either girl all day. Plus, if what she heard is true, the two had made enemies with the Slytherins already and they might've been attacked.

"Hey Remus, have you seen Laurel or Raven? I haven't seen them all day, and I'm kind of concerned. What could have happen to them?" Lily addressed Remus only, pointedly ignoring the lovesick James.

"The last time we saw them, they were leaving the library. I remember Laurel saying bye, but she didn't say where they were going. I think that they took a left when they got out. Maybe they went outside," Remus replied calmly. "If you are going to look for them, do it after dinner. If they aren't back by then, we'll help you."

Peter sent a glare at Remus for volunteering them to help. Peter doesn't like those new girls, but he'll keep that little fact a secret for now. James leapt up to offer Lily the seat next to him. Lily not so politely decline and went to sit next to her roommates to tell them about the plan to look outside for the missing girls. Lily wouldn't have been so worried, if the girls hadn't been late to get back to the dorms. The girls had promised her that they would have a girl's day after five today so that they can get to know each other. While the duo have their secrets, being deceitful isn't something that any of them had thought they would do.

After dinner, Lily, Alice, Dorcas, and the Marauders split up to search outside for Laurel and Raven. After an hour of searching, the group hadn't found a thing. They were going to give up, when they saw a dark shape. Upon further inspection, they found it to be Laurel collapsed somewhat protectively in front of Raven. The group of seven tried everything that they could think of to wake up the sleeping Americans. Finally giving up, they brought the two to the Hospital Wing and put them in Mme. Pomphrey's capable hands. Unbeknownst to them, one of the two girls was in more danger than anyone knew.


	11. Chapter 10

Raven pov

I woke up to find myself in an unfamiliar room. A woman was bustling around, reprimanding some people while fussing over others. She saw me awake and quickly walked to my bed.

"Hello dear. I don't really see anything wrong with your health besides you being tired enough to fall asleep outside, but now that you're up, I would like you to answer some questions for me," she spoke gently but with a firm voice that commanded me to do what she said. When I nodded she continued. "What is your name?"

"Raven Everett."

"Birthday?"

"December 3rd."

"Where are you from?"

"The United States of America."

She quickly made some notes on a piece of paper before smiling at me, "Okay, you are free to go now. I suggest talking to Mr. Potter, Mr. Black, Mr. Lupin, and Ms. Evans. They were extremely worried about you."

Still half-asleep, I simply nodded. I was still in my clothes from yesterday, so I didn't have to change. It wasn't until I was halfway to the Gryffindor tower that I realized that the woman who was talking to me didn't mention Laurel when she was talking about people who were worried about me. Struck with the realization that I have no idea how Laurel is, I picked up the pace and all but ran to the Gryffindor tower. Lily was sitting by the fire and reading a book. She glanced my way when she heard the door open. Her face betrayed how relieved she was to see me. She grabbed my wrist and all but dragged me to the boys' dorms. Lily threw open one of the doors to our right and opened all of the windows in that room. The lumps on each of the four beds groaned. The person to the far left was the first one to get out of bed. Unsurprisingly, it was Remus. When he saw me, he quickly got the other guys out of bed. Peter just stayed asleep though.

"Raven what happened?"

"Why isn't Laurel awake?"

"Are you feeling okay?"

"Did you see the spell that hit you guys?"

They hurled questions at me faster than I could hear them. One thing stood out though. Someone asked me a question about Laurel. They don't know how she is. I toss a quick, "See ya!" over my shoulder and sprinted all the way to the Hospital Wing. Just as I was about to turn the corner, I heard hushed voices.

"Is there any way to pull her out of it?" a feminine voice asked.

"There is no magical way Poppy," Professor Dumbledore replied. I could practically hear his eyes twinkling.

"What do you mean by that headmaster?" a hard edge evident in Poppy's voice.

Professor Dumbledore just hummed. Judging by the sound of footsteps, he had also left. Poppy sputtered before the sound of footsteps indicated her taking her leave as well.

I was scared out of my mind. What if they were talking about Laurel? Should she be given muggle medicine? How could I let this happen? I need to calm down. Maybe it isn't Laurel at all. Maybe she is just waking up and is wondering why I ditched her. With these reassuring thoughts, I stepped into the Hospital Wing. The moment I stepped through the door, my hopes were dashed. My sister was the only one in the Hospital Wing. Whatever spell hit her; it caused her to look dead. There were dark circles under her eyes and were emphasized by how pale her skin became. Her normally uncontrollable hair was limp. She reminded me of how Alexis looked when she died. A sob tore through my throat as I dashed out of the room. The pain of seeing another one of my family members looking so lifeless pushed me over the edge. My heart felt like it was ripped from my chest and stomped on. My feet pounded against the stone floor. My tears blurred my vision, so I crashed into several things. I didn't care. My sense of touch had gone numb. Nothing could match my emotional agony right now. I was jerked to a halt by a firm grip on my hand. I barely registered Lily's face before breaking down right in the middle of the corridor.

Lily murmured softly in my ear. I didn't hear a word that she said. I replayed what I remembered from the other day and realized that it was my fault. This wouldn't be happening if I hadn't fallen asleep. Laurel wouldn't have had to fight off the attack on her own and we would be in the library finishing our language courses that we will teach each other. Please let this be an awful dream. I cried and cried until there were no more tears to shed. Even then, I sobbed noisily. A part of me, the part that grew up in an orphanage, scolded me for showing any weakness. When this part came to the forefront of my mind, I abruptly straightened up. Sobbing and crying like a baby will not solve anything. Crying is just wasting time that could be spent helping Laurel. I dried my tears on my sleeve as an indifferent mask slid onto my face. Lily seemed concerned at my sudden change in mood. Whatever, I have bigger problems. I throw a tight smile her way before heading back to the tree that I fell asleep under the other day. Hopefully there is some magical residue from the spell. I feel eyes on me, but as I glance around, I see no one but Lily, who is walking towards the stairs. Shaking off the feeling, I proceeded to the lake.

The tree was just like I remembered it being like yesterday. There is nothing that would indicate that a fight or a struggle had taken place. Once again, I feel eyes on me. I'm not necessarily a paranoid person, so there is no way that this is my imagination.

Holding up my wand, I whisper, "Homenum Revelio."

The tip of my wand glowed a pale purple then flickered twice. There is one other person in the area, and it's probably a guy. I feel my eyes narrow. If it's the person who hurt Laurel, there will be hell to pay. I didn't bother to hide my wand as I turned around. There's no one in sight. I groaned. There are two options now; I can scope out the area, but the spell's trace might wear off completely. I could also just check for the spell's trace, but I run the risk of being attacked. Laurel comes first; I just have to risk it. Channeling Sharpeye, I change my eyes and ears slightly so that if I'm attacked, there is less of a chance of me being off guard. I turn my attention to the area around the tree once again. There should be a spell that reveals the spells cast in an area. I hurriedly wrack my brain for the information. Drawing a blank, I fight the urge to cry out. I have always been good at remembering spells. How can I not remember this one? This is not good. I can remember the day that I learned the spell last year, but not the actual spell itself!

Flashback

"Why do we even need to know this spell?" a fifth year Alexis groaned.

Laurel and I laugh at Alexis. We would help her, but she refuses to try the spell because it is "useless and stupid." Laurel suddenly gets an evil smile on her face. She runs from the room cackling like a maniac. Alexis and I would recognize that expression anywhere. Someone was going to learn a lesson the hard way. Alexis looked at me with wide eyes and mouthed 'get her!' I happily obliged. We raced down the hallways as quickly as we could. Eventually, we were separated. Just when I thought that I had lost Laurel, I was tugged into an empty classroom. The person who dragged me inside was none other than Laurel who was still smiling mischievously.

"I got an idea!" she intoned. "I need your help with it."

We spent the rest of the day planning and putting her plan into motion. The next day, I woke up to a panicked Alexis shaking me. Laurel was behind her trying to wipe the smile off of her face. I was dragged to Alexis's room. Laurel and I did a good job in here. The room was full of charms and jinxes that have counter-spells to. They won't go away with a simple finite.

"Please do that charm we learned yesterday Raven!" Alexis pleaded. "I can't identify most of the charms in this room!"

I smirk, "No can do. I'm under strict orders not to help you."

Alexis turned on Laurel, "Fix my room!"

Laurel sighed, "Nope. You refused to learn the spell, so now I'm forcing your hand. You have to perform it. I have stored Raven's and my wands in a place that I won't have access to until this mess is cleaned up."

Alexis turned red with fury, "Ugh! I don't even remember the spell geniuses! How do I perform a spell without knowing the incantation?"

I blushed. I hadn't even thought of that. Is there a way to perform a spell without knowing the incantation? Personally, I think it's impossible. This is just great. Laurel looked at Raven and I with an exasperated expression.

"Am I the only one who read our books in first year?" She groaned. "Magic is based on intent. You can say the words of a spell, but that doesn't automatically make it work. Words help, but they don't make the spell work! If you focus hard enough on your intention, the spell will work as it should."

Alexis looked at me for a confirmation, but I just shrugged, "It is worth a shot I guess. I have my doubts though…"

Sighing, Alexis, with much help and advice from Laurel, performed the spell. All around the room, the names of spells popped up. Alexis quickly set out to undo all of the spells. When she undid the final spell, Laurel's and my wands fell to the ground. I gingerly picked mine up. I am never giving my wand to Laurel again!

Looking like the cat that ate the canary, Laurel intoned, "You did it! Now you'll never have to memorize spells again!"

For months, people would never stop asking why Laurel had been running across campus naked with hot pink skin. They thought we were too harsh on her when we told them it was her punishment for pulling her "educational prank," Especially since I was her accomplice. No one would look at Laurel for a month afterwards without blushing or wiggling their eyebrows.

Flashback end

Remembering Laurel's advice from last year, I focus on what I wanted my magic to do. I begged it to tell me the spells that have been performed in this area during the last eighteen hours. A golden beam of light surrounded the area before the name of the spell showed itself. The only spell that had been performed in this area within the last day was the spell, "Somnia Tranquilitas."

Truthfully, I have never heard of that spell before or even those words. I took a moment to regret not taking Latin before committing the spell to memory. I quickly detransformed my ears and eyes before running back into the castle. I have to get to the library to look this spell up. When I got there, I immediately hit the books.

After three solid hours in the library, I still have no clue about the spell. As soon as I can get a laptop, I am establishing a worldwide net for witches and wizards. Finding a spell in this library is torture. Sighing, I decided to try a different way of finding out what the spell is. I summoned a Latin to English dictionary. Somnia means dreams, and tranquilitas means peaceful. I wracked my brain for anything I knew about a dreaming spell. My eyes widened in horror as I recalled a seventh year at Salem being put under a dreaming spell like that. She was stress out for her NEWTs and kept getting nightmares. She had her friend cast it on her the day before her Charms NEWT. It was cast on her when she was awake. The spell is meant to be casted on the person when they are asleep. The seventh year ended up in a coma and didn't get out of it until three months later. There was a huge chance that she would die. If the spell cast on Laurel was any more intense than that, there might be no hope for her. Desperately, I dived back into my researching. I can't let her die.


	12. Chapter 11

Laurel POV

It has been about three weeks since I had that strange dream, but something still doesn't feel right. Even though that terrible nightmare is over, I can't help but keep thinking of it. I should be overjoyed that it's over. Why do I think so fondly of Lily? Why do I roll my eyes when I think of James and Sirius? Why am I impressed by Remus being a top notch prankster and a prefect? Why am I so attached to these figments of my imagination? Why do I even feel anything for them? They do not exist! I haven't even dreamt of them since then. It makes no sense to me. Maybe I just need to get away for a while. I haven't shifted into Razorfang since I got here. Come to think of it, the other Huntresses haven't transformed either. We usually make it a point to try to do it every day. This only fuels my confusion.

"Hey guys. You guys up for a run?" I ask.

Alexis and Raven exchange a suspicious look before shaking their heads at me. I look at them with disbelief. Raven loves flying, and Alexis usually is content to just hang onto my body as a viper as I run. She says that she loves the feeling of the wind in her face without having to spend any energy. Lazy girl. My eyes narrowed minutely, and I raised one of my eyebrows. Something is not right with those two. Are they keeping secrets from me? That is a direct violation of Huntress Code.

Alexis quickly justified herself, "I'm just too tired today. Maybe later Laurel."

My eyes narrowed to slits. Alexis is never too tired to have fun or transform. She could be ready to drop dead and still want to party. The other Huntresses' eyes widen at my expression. I spun on my heel and walked outside to the courtyard. I could hear my friends calling out to me, but I ignored them for once. I need to clear my head. I crossed the courtyard and went to my favorite place on campus, the woods. There is a clearing several miles from the school that is perfect for when I want to get away. When the school was out of sight, I shifted into my lioness form and ran the rest of the way. In my animal form, I noticed a lot of things that I couldn't as a human.

The entire forest was too perfect. Everything was exactly as I remembered it, but it didn't look as it should. The forest looks as if it is spring and not autumn. I don't quite remember how it is supposed to look, but if it is fall, the trees shouldn't be all green. There aren't even any animals around. I couldn't smell, hear or see any wildlife! This is not right. When I got to the clearing, I settled down right smack dab in the middle of it.

None of this makes sense. Why do Raven and Alexis refuse to turn into their animagus form? Why is the forest so odd? Why does everything look as if it was taken completely from my memories? As a matter of fact, classes are going exactly the same as they had in my dream. This makes no sense. If everything looks like a memory, then what would happen if I went somewhere I have no memory of?

Just as I was about to test my theory, two figures burst into the clearing. At first, I thought that they were ghosts because they had no scent. I was extremely surprised when I realized it was Alexis and Raven. Now I'm positive something's up. I hightail it out of there before they can say a word. I have to go someplace that I have never been before. I have to figure out what the hell is going on here, and that is the only lead I have.

AN: yes, I know that it's short, but I wanted to give you guys something because my schedule is really unstable right now. Next time, the chapter will be as long as they usually are, I promise.


	13. Chapter 12

Raven POV

Over the last few weeks, I have researched the spell that hit Laurel up and down, but I haven't found a cure. I even tried to force my magic to wake her up. Nothing seems to work. My nightmares have gotten worse. In some, Laurel is begging me to free her; in others, Laurel is with Alexis and they are telling me to join them. I've taken to not sleeping at all. My school work has been suffering too. How can I think of school when my only family is in danger? I visit her everyday; she looks awful. It looks like she's having continuous nightmares. She's always mumbling, whimpering, or crying. Recently, I've been hearing my name and Alexis's name thrown in there. Her skin was a sickly shade that made her look dead and there are bags under her eyes despite being in a coma. She is deteriorating before my eyes. Seeing her like this has only made my resolve grow stronger. I have been trying every magical and non-magical technique that I have come across, but it always ends in a bitter failure. Lily, Dorcas, and Alice drag me to class and meals every day. I wouldn't eat if they didn't. From time to time, one of the girls, or even one of the Marauders would suggest something that I could try to wake up Laurel. I am very grateful for everything that they do; one day I'll tell them that, but right now I'm scared for Laurel's life.

Sometimes, I feel like someone's watching me. It doesn't happen often, but when I'm alone in the library or outside by the tree, I feel eyes on me. By the time I muster up the courage to investigate, whoever is watching me is usually gone. At this point, I don't care anymore. If someone is stalking me, I can take care of it after Laurel wakes up. Laurel would probably be upset that I didn't do anything about it though. Maybe I'm just being paranoid. Yeah, that's it. I'm being paranoid.

"Hey, Raven, Have you found anything today?" a familiar voice asks.

I look up from the old tome on my lap, "No, Remus, I wish I did. How are you today?"

"I'm fine. I brought Sirius with me today," he answers.

"Why? Shouldn't he be with James or his fling of the day?" I question absentmindedly.

"James is in detention and I dumped her," Sirius replied.

I sigh, "Okay. Remus, you know what the exact spell is, so do you mind telling Sirius about it?" I addressed Remus.

Remus nods. I refocus on my book. Remus has helped me research enough to know exactly what was cast on Laurel. Sometimes Lily joins me too, but she tends to hang out with Severus because the Marauders, namely James, tend to pick on him. She usually yells at them so that he can get away.

I haven't even read two sentences when Sirius whisper-yells, "What? Are you sure?!"

I look up curiously, "What's the matter Sirius? Do you know something?"

"There is a book in the Black family library. It deals with spells of the mind, and I think that this spell is in there," he explained. "The thing is, only the offspring of the head of house can go in there unless given permission. I didn't do it, so…"

I immediately caught on. The only other person that had access to that library is Sirius's sibling. It's either the guy Sirius lookalike or the girl Sirius lookalike. I know that Sirius only has one sibling, so it can't be both of them.

"Who. Is. Your. Sibling?" I growl out.

Sirius didn't hesitate in selling his brother out, "His name is Regulus."

I growl out a thank you before storming out of the library. Heavy footsteps behind me tell me that Remus and Sirius were following me. My vision was slightly tinted with red. Sirius's brother better have a damn good reason to do what he did! It might make his death a little less painful. Then again, it probably won't be. I had no idea where Regulus might be, but I will find him. He will _**pay!**_

"Raven! Stop!" Remus called out.

I abruptly stop and turn to face the Marauders, "Why? Why should I not avenge my best friend? Tell me Remus; is she unworthy of being avenged? Are you protecting the asshole that did this? God damn it, Remus! Tell me!"

"You don't have a clue where he is and you aren't going in with a plan. What if he is with Lucius and Bellatrix? There is only one of you Raven. You can't take down three capable Slytherins, "he reasoned.

I sighed and leaned on a nearby wall. I felt crumpled and defeated. Being so close to revenge and then being trumped by logic forced my adrenaline rush and anger to leave. Remus wrapped an arm around my waist and let me lean on him while we walked to the common room. Sirius was on my other side in case I somehow managed to fall. When we got to the common room, it was deserted. It must be dinnertime. Sirius goes to the Great Hall to get James and Peter. I guess that it makes sense considering that I'm leaning on the only other option. A few minutes later, James and Sirius return.

"Is she okay? Should we get Lily or something?" James asked upon seeing my defeated posture.

Sirius waved him off, "She is just sulking because we didn't let her go kill my little brother for casting the spell on Laurel."

I sit up straight, "I am not moping, Sirius!"

The two Marauders who were researching with me gave me pointed looks. I conceded, "Maybe I was sulking a tiny bit, but not a lot!"

"So, what did you drag me up seven flights of stairs for?" James asked.

Sirius, Remus, and I share a look before murmuring in unison, "Revenge."

James grinned, "I'm in."

If one were to look inside the Gryffindor common room, they would have seen three marauders and one huntress hunched over a table with parchment spread out on it. If they looked closer, they would have seen that the parchment had many elaborate plans all aimed to humiliate or hurt Regulus Black. If they weren't scared off by the plans, then the unlucky person would have seen the manic look in Raven's eyes as she planned her revenge.

Once again guys, sorry for the slow update, but I just got a new laptop for Christmas and I've been trying to learn how to use it. I'm busy transferring all of my files onto the new laptop, but when I found this half finished, I knew that I had to post something. Hopefully, I will be able to get back to the longer posts soon. Anyways, if you guys want to give me ideas for the revenge, I'm still drawing up plans for that so there is room for anything that you guys want in it. Until next time, happy late Christmas and Happy New Year!


	14. Chapter 13

Laurel POV

I'm amazed at the fact that I've been running for so long without getting tired. I must have been running for days, but each step feels like I've just started running. The area around me is completely black. It's not darkness; it's just...black, not there. I can still hear the other Huntresses, if I can even call them that, chasing me. They are begging that I listen to them and come back to them where I belong. I'm past scared at this point; I am terrified. What's real? What's reality? Did I die? Is this my hell? I didn't do anything to deserve this! My panic fuels my running, and I am basically flying through the black nothingness.

Suddenly, a calming male voice pierces through the blackness, "Do you want to leave?"

Without a second thought, I risk myself by changing back into my human form and hysterically screaming, "Yes! Please!"

The moment those words left my mouth, a bright light invaded my vision. Suddenly, I found myself in a hospital-like place. Mini-Sirius (I can tell because of the hair) is walking away swiftly. He was the one who put me under the spell, so I briefly wonder why he pulled me out of my own personal hell. Then again, the spell wasn't meant for me; it was meant for Raven. Raven! Is she alright? I stiffly get out of the bed that I had been lying on and pulled on the sweats that were at the foot of the bed. When I check the other beds in the hospital-like room, I don't see her, so I decide to venture out of the room.

I stagger out of the hospital stiffly. I have no idea where I was, what time it is, or what the date is, so I go in what I believe is the general direction of the Great Hall. I must have been right for once because I am able to locate the unmistakable double doors after only a couple of wrong turns. I was just outside of the Great Hall when a terrifying thought came to me. What if this is just a dream too? I don't think I can take that type if mental torment again. No, I have to do this; I have to go in. That is the only way that I can know for sure what the hell has happened to me. I open the door.

Inside, people are eating what appears to be dinner. I look up at the enchanted ceiling; night sky, it's definitely dinner. Suddenly, a monstrously loud cheer erupts from the Gryffindor table, and I am literally swept off my feet by the Marauders. James and Sirius had hoisted me up onto their shoulders and began cheering even more wildly. I couldn't help but weakly chuckle at their antics; I knew there was a reason I missed them. The boys set me down at the table. I was enveloped in hugs by all my friends, and I can't help but start crying.

"What's wrong Laurel?" Lily asked as she hugged me from the side.

I sobbed, "Oh god guys. I never thought I would see any of you again! Now, I am just so damn happy! Why the hell am I crying?"

All of my friends laughed at me, and to be honest, I chuckle with them. I am so ridiculous sometimes; maybe I'm just crazy. Finally, we all sobered up enough to start talking again.

"Where's Raven?" I asked. "She usually doesn't skip meals."

Everyone glanced at each other nervously, and Alice said, "We'll discuss this when you're better, Laurel."

James intervened, "Now wait a minute, Poppy obviously let her go, and so she is fine!"

"Heheheheh," I nervously chuckle, "I didn't see anyone when I left. I got out of there the moment I woke up."

The entire group looked at me disbelievingly. I may have been imagining it, but James looked ridiculously proud of me while Lily looked so disappointed that I shrank back into my seat. I wonder why James is so damn pride, but I can ask him later. Suddenly, I once find myself being lifted by two certain Marauders.

"What are you two doing!?" I hoarsely yell at them. Damn, my voice sounds awful.

"Poppy will kill us if she finds out that we kept you away from her. Plus, you could still be hurt," Remus chuckles lightly as he falls into step beside us.

I pout, "But I wanna see my best friend!"

"Then look below you!" Sirius jokes.

"Aww, you're right! James! You are my second best friend, and I am so glad to see you!" I chuckle.

"And what about the devilishly handsome Marauder?" Sirius pouts.

"Of course! How could I forget?" I see Sirius smirk at my words. "Oh Remus, you are so amazing, and you are definitely the most handsome of the Marauders. Of course you are one of my best friends ever!"

Everyone laughs at Sirius's gobsmacked expression, while Remus lightly blushes. Well, I chuckle since I can't really laugh yet. For the entire rest of the trip, Sirius just pouts at me whenever he catches my eye. I guiltily assure him that he is handsome too, and he brightens up slightly even though he still pouts. When we were almost at the hospital, I spot several figures running for us at full speed.

I barely recognize Raven. Her hair is messy and unkempt, and she looks like she hasn't slept in weeks. She must be tired out of her mind. Is this because of me? How long was it before she got to this point? Knowing her, it didn't take long at all. She has a knack for being beside herself with worry when someone she cares for is hurt.

_Flashback _

_I sighed as I left the infirmary. Oh Alexis, you are going to be the death of me; there's a reason why the teacher says to wear dragon hide gloves when preparing potions. You can't just say, 'Oh, I'm Alexis, so I must be invincible!' It does __**not **__work like that. Suddenly, I see Raven racing towards me. Thinking that she wanted to know what's up with Alexis, I patiently wait right where I was. Imagine my surprise when she blows right past me into the infirmary! Sighing, I reenter the infirmary to find her harassing a poor nurse. _

_"Raven! Alexis is sleeping. You can't go in, so stop harassing the nurse," I chide her. _

_Raven turns to me with imploring eyes, "I need to give her these potions so that she can get better! I've spent all night making them!"_

_"She is in good hands, Alexis. The last thing she needs is for you to kill yourself doing what you think will help. In fact, the best thing that you could do is _get some sleep._" Raven looked like I kicked her puppy, so I added, "I'm sure that she'll take the potions next time she roasts her hands by being stubborn like the hardhead she is. This is not the last time she will give us a heart attack by getting ridiculously hurt, so I'm sure that your potions will eventually be used."_

_Sighing, Raven dejectedly walks away. I accompany her, and when she gets to her dorm, I force her to sleep using a few questionable techniques. I mean, they aren't _that _questionable; I just tied her to the bed and forced a sleeping potion down her throat… I'll pay for that later, won't I?_

_Flashback end_

I am shaken out of my flashback by James and Sirius setting me down. Raven gives me a crushing hug, and I break down at the familiar gesture. I was so glad that I can get a hug from the _real _Raven after all this time, and seeing Alexis was a huge blow. She immediately starts rubbing my back soothingly in hopes of calming me.

"I saw her!" I sob out. "I saw her, and she was alive!"

I feel Raven. I didn't want to tell her, not really, but I slipped out. I immediately regret it as I see her eyes tear up. I just couldn't keep my mouth shut could I? I berate myself for my stupidity, and I start to pull away. Her arms hold me tighter, and she cries into my shoulder while muttering about how close she was to losing me. For the longest time, we just stand there sobbing into each other's shoulders. When we stop, I look at where the Marauders were. In their place, I see a piece of floating parchment.

**Raven and Laurel,**

**Make sure miss escapist goes back into the Hospital Wing before Poppy goes on a man hunt for her.**

**~The Devilishly Handsome Marauders:**

**Messrs. Moony, Paddfoot, Prongs, and Wormtail **

"Miss escapist? Laurel, you should _not _have left that room," Raven chided lightly.

I grin weakly, "Aw come on. I'm a Huntress, remember?"

Raven chuckles as she fusses over me. She leads me back into the Hospital Wing, and I gladly walk in with her. I'm so glad to be back.

AN: So, uh, hi? (Ducks as tomato flies at head.) Rude! I just wanted to apologize! Anyway, I'm sorry for ignoring the story for so long, but I promised never to completely abandon it. That doesn't mean that dry spells don't stink, but I digress. I'm just going to post as I type instead of trying to force myself into a schedule like last time. If it helps, I already started the next chapter (that will have the prank in it), so I won't leave you guys forever this time! Read and Review.


	15. Chapter 14

Raven POV

"What?" an outraged shriek tore out of Laurel's throat. "I have been MIA for three weeks, and I have to make up every scrap of work that I missed? That's hardly fair! It wasn't my choice to be out of school, you know. Even with Raven helping me, I will never catch up! I can't recover from this!"

Professor McGonagall sighed heavily, "I don't know what to tell you, Ms. Anderson. I could get you a tutor like Ms. Evans or Mr. Lupin, or I could set up one on one time with you teachers. Ms. Everett could do with having a tutor too; her grades are basically only Ts at this moment in time which are the equivalent to Fs in your previous school."

Laurel's eyes widen before she glares at me as she speaks through clenched teeth, "Oh really? Well professor, I'm sure Lily and Remus would be very glad to help us. Thank you for your time."

Professor McGonagall looked concerned as we walked away. Truthfully, I'm beyond terrified! Laurel has always hounded Alexis and me when it came to grades. I chance a glance at her; her eyes are feral. A bestial growl comes out, and that is my queue to run. I immediately hightail it out of there. I just have to get outside and transform, and I'll be safe. I just need to outrun her for a few minutes. I see the exit! I'm almost safe; I can almost taste it!

"Oh no you don't!" Laurel growls as she tackles me.

She wrestles my wand out of my grip before glaring down at me. I shrink back in fear. I already know exactly what she is going to say, but I'm not looking forward to what comes afterward. Huntresses Code states that we can't let our grades slip to less than a B average(or A here. How backwards) unless we want a punishment from Laurel. It's never pretty when Laurel doles out punishments for grades.

"I-I was j-just worried ab-bout you," I stutter out pitifully in hopes that she will go easier on me. She's a sucker for the "I'm going to cry" look. "Can you really punish me for caring?"

"There is more of a chance of seeing Sirius running around in a hula skirt with his chest painted Slytherin green than me not getting on your case about this," Laurel intones.

I sigh, "The usual?" The usual is me being her maid for a week, and she is by no means nice about it, hence why it's a punishment.

"Worse. You deserve worse." My eyes widen in horror. She couldn't possibly mean... "That's right. I am purging your closet and transfiguring everything into sweats. You can't transfigure them back for a _month."_

My jaw drops to the floor. Laurel knows that my clothes are sacred territory, and the fact that she dares to touch them speaks volumes about how upset she is. I look down at my hands ashamedly. I know that I shouldn't have let my grades slip, but I don't regret devoting my time to her health. Unfortunately, her forgiving that anytime soon _is _about as likely as Sirius wearing a hula skirt with green paint on his chest. An evil smile crossed my face as I imagined a certain other male Black in a similar situation, but I quickly masked it. I can't give away the surprise yet.

"Fine," I sigh, "let's go find Lily and Remus and beg for their help."

Laurel sighs in relief; she probably thought I'd throw a tantrum like third year's April Fools.

Flashback

_I sighed in relief as I collapsed on my bed. Thank God it's Friday; this week has been so tough. It's still April Fools though, so I still have to be careful. It's no secret that we Huntresses prank everyone on this day; we even prank each other. The customary teacher pranks have been pulled, we've already turned all of the stairs into water slides, and our tripping tulips are all in place, so the only pranks left are the dinner prank and each others'. Anyways, I better change out of my school clothes. _

_"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"_

_I look at my closet in horror. All I have in there are bright orange sweats and beat up sneakers; everything else is gone! I growl; my clothes are the prank victims this year! How dare they! I understand how Laurel could do it, but doesn't Alexis know the importance of looking amazing? Laurel is the one with the least amount of fashion sense! _

_I storm out of my room shrieking at the top of my lungs, "Laurel! Alexis! Out now!"_

_Laurel and Alexis walk out of their respective dorms with smug grins. They quickly rearrange their expressions into innocent smiles, but I've already caught them. I grab them by their ears and drag them into my room before gesturing frantically to my nearly bare closet. _

_"Raven, what happened to your closet?" Laurel asked with wide eyes. _

_"Who could have done this?" Alexis asked with faux concern. _

_I glared at them wordlessly for a moment before going ballistic, "How dare you? I would expect this of Laurel who rarely cares about how she looks..."_

_"Hey!"_

_"Quiet! But I expect better from you Alexis! Clothes are sacred territory! Have I ever pranks your clothes besides harmless color changing? No! So, why do you have the right to do such a terrible thing to me? No! You don't! You must suffer for this; this has to become a Huntress Rule! That's how serious I am about this; no one should do this to my clothes!"_

_Alexis and Laurel looked at me warily before agreeing not to ever pull a prank like this again, but they vetoed making it a rule. They called the notion ridiculous and completely unnecessary. Humph, fine. As long as my clothes are okay, then I'm fine. _

_Flashback End_

"Hogwarts to Raven, come in Raven," Laurel chuckles.

"Sorry, just thinking about last time you messed with my clothes," I sigh. "Man I was so high strung about them back then!"

"You are still crazy about them! Don't you play innocent here!" Laurel giggled.

"...Shut up. Let's just start studying," I end the conversation.

Laurel, being the crazy person she is, studies until she is about to fall asleep on her transfiguration textbook. I sigh before taking her back to the Hospital Wing. The healer told her that she needed to sleep there for the week, and I'll be damned if I'm the reason she doesn't get back to 100 percent.

After putting her to bed, I hunt down the Marauders. Operation Revenge starts tomorrow morning at breakfast.

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AN:I know it's rushed, but I needed to get a chapter out before Monday because I will only be studying for the next few weeks. That's right, finals are coming(shudders). I know I promised revenge time, but the chapter decided to write itself. I promise that next update will have at least some revenge, but you guys will need to wait for about three weeks which is about when I'll be free. Until then, read, review, reread, and review again!(Can you tell I like reviews?)

Btw: Also, I posted last chapter so that I would get reviews on my story as a birthday present several days later, and you guys really came through! Five reviews and a bunch of favorites? I was shocked and amazed. You guys are amazing! I just really want to thank:

-Loony Moony Padfoot Prongs for being the most patient and supporting reviewer I've ever had! I can always count on you to review and make me feel better about my story.

-Artemis(Guest) –Ps I think that's about halfway across the country.

-Anon(Guest)-Of course I will!

-Alinthrada GamerGirl- Thanks, I am really glad you like the story and appreciate the work I put into spelling and grammar!

-The Amendable Snow Freak who is also a reliable reviewer that I always look forward to hearing from. Thanks for hanging in there!


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